TFP Of Souls and Sparks
by ZeroAcception
Summary: Just going to have to risk it, and take a look inside.
1. Who is Jack Darby?

**I do not own Transformers of any kind and any of their characters. The origin is different than that of WFC/FOC, but similarities remain. You'll get what I mean as it progresses.**

**Now this is my first Transformers fanfic. Just wanted to let everyone know that.**

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter 01: Who is Jack Darby?**

In a poorly lit room with numerous electronic devices arranged in almost every corner, men in secured hazmat suits diligently proceeded with the task presented to them. Before them, floating in a vat of blue liquid, was the esteemed leader of MECH, Silas. Most of his body was gone, crushed from the last bout he had with the Autobots and Agent Fowler. All that remained was most of his torso and left arm. Next to his tube was a large berth with a drape covering what was obviously a much larger body.

The men turned to the one in charge, who gave the signal to proceed. With one pull of a switch, the room was lit from a brilliant blue light from Silas' tube. Even with their protective visors shielding them, the light nearly blinded the men and women of MECH. The body to the side thrashed about but was restrained to the berth…

**One Week Later**

/…so I'll be there in a few minutes,/ Arcee replied over the phone.

Jack Darby. Normal human kid with not so normal friends. He stood outside of Jasper High, bag at his side as he waited for his friend/guardian/partner Arcee to arrive and pick him up. Arcee is a sentient machine called a Cybertronian, alien from the planet Cybertron. But any native on Earth who knew of them called them Transformers. Due to certain circumstances, Jack was placed under the guard of Arcee for nearly a year now and though he resented it at the start, he now relished it. His life outside school and his job had become adventurous. Yes, highly dangerous with the chance of him getting killed by Cybertronians referred to as Decepticons, but it had its perks. After all, he was the first and only human to set foot on an alien world. Sadly only those of a select few knew if such a feat.

For now, he was back to his mundane life of school and his part time job at the KO Burger. As much as he wanted to use a popular Star Wars reference to describe it, he figured it wasn't worthy of such high praise. The only issue now though was his ride was running late. Arcee had been called off for a scouting mission for an energon deposit, the life blood and power to any and all Cybertronians. Earth surprisingly had a good bit of it, but most fell into the hands of Megatron, leader of the Decepticons.

Jack gave a smile and said, "No big deal 'Cee. I can afford to be a little late." He wasn't worried about loosing his job for being late. He had arrived many times after his shift started when dealing with the Bots or Cons and still continued to hold his position. Mostly because no one wants to work at KO Burger and finding replacement employees was difficult. "I'll see ya when you get here."

/Later Jack./

Flipping his phone shut, Jack dropped it in his bag and simply sat on the curve, leaning back on his hands. He simply watched the rest of the students of Jasper High disperse and ride off to do who knows what. Some had afternoon jobs like him, others simply goofed off and ran on mommy and daddy's money to do as they pleased. Of course Jack didn't have that luxury and had to earn his spendings.

"Hey Jack," a smooth, sweet voice spoke.

Turning slightly, Jack caught the sway of cheerleader hips as Sierra approached, book bag strapped to one arm and two books cradled to her chest. She gave a smile as she turned to face him as she passed, her car parked almost perfectly behind her. Jack had at one time been crushing on the girl, but as time passed, he didn't see her in that light anymore. Not that he wasn't friendly to her. At least she noticed his existence more. Maybe it had something to do with giving her a ride that one time?

"Hey Sierra. Heading home?"

She gave a shrug. "Not quite yet. Meeting some friends at the mall." She glanced around and then back to Jack. "Where's your bike?" Was that slight concern in her voice?

Jack gave a shrug of his own. "Mom wanted to borrow it for today," he replied casually. Wouldn't be the first time he used that excuse. "It stops her from getting an early mid-life-crisis maybe."

Sierra gave a soft giggle at the remark. He mentally apologized to his mother. "You want me to give you a lift?"

Jack blinked at that. He wasn't expecting Sierra to offer him a ride… but Arcee was on her way. With a sigh, he shook his head. "Sorry. I'll have to take a rain check on that. I'd just gotten off the phone with her a second ago. She'll be here any minute."

Sierra for her part almost, ALMOST, looked disappointed, but perked up almost instantly. "Maybe another time then?" she asked, head titling to the side slightly.

"Sure!" Jack answered, not realizing he was smiling.

Sierra smiled back. "Well, see ya later, Jack." She gave a wave and turned to her car, digging for her keys in her pocket. Jack meanwhile watched her hips sway as she drew closer to her ride.

"Hey Dork." The magic was instantly shattered by two words.

Jack's head sunk as the bane of his existence spoke behind him. Jack glanced to the side, seeing the overly decorated muscle car that belonged to said bane of existence. He just had to sit next to Vince's car.

"What do you want, Vince?" Jack asked, not bothering to look back at the jerk. After befriending the Autobots and having many, MANY, close calls with any and all Decepticons, Jack was no longer intimidated by a simple school bully. Jack had stared Megatron in the face. Even sparing his life when he, a insignificant human, had the chance to finish him off. When you've done something like that and lived to tell the tale, someone like Vince was far below any kind of threat.

"Just making sure my favorite KO Burger employee was working tonight. Want to make sure you remember to make my order fresh."

The thought of serving the guy food irked Jack to no end. Took every fiber of his being to not bash the guy's head in with his motor cycle helmet. "Whatever you say Vince."

Vince was about to retort about Jack brushing him off, but both boys paused at the sound of a loud engine roar. Jack wasn't familiar with it, considering he was more familiar with Arcee's but Vince had a good idea considering he was familiar with muscle cars himself. Around the corner, pulling into the school parking lot was a sight to behold. Rolling in was a two door conversion Dodge Charger, 2009 model with a shaker hood and wide body kit. The grill in the front was custom, giving it a slightly modern Cuda look. Wheels were powder coated black with a blue line running the rim. The whole car was murdered out, a term used for a vehicle that was entirely blacked out from the paint job to the tent of it's head and tail lights. What other color there was came from the blue line on the rims, blue brake calibers, and a single, pulsing blue light that ran back and forth within the grill.

Upon pulling into the parking lot, facing the two boys, fog and headlights began to flicker, along with two others inside the grill. Obvious sign of an unmarked police vehicle, but Vince had never seen one with such work done to it. An interceptor model maybe? Heavy work had to have been done for the engine to make that loud of a roar. Made his car sound like it meowed when he put his foot down on the gas.

But none of this went through Jack's head. His thought process went into an entirely alien direction. Though the car was a human make, it screamed something entirely different. Not to mention it was just sitting there looking at them. When the car gave one good rev of its engine, Jack found himself slowly standing up. Vince held a look of awe, but Jack was beginning to sweat. He glanced around, and saw some straggling students had stopped and looked. Sierra was sitting in her car, phone to her ear when she was looking to the intimidating Charger. Even a teacher who was about to climb into her car had paused. But Jack still saw no sign of Arcee.

Taking a risk, Jack took up his bag and slowly turned to leave. /Freeze Jackson Darby./

Those who did know the boy all turned and looked in his direction. Even Sierra paused from talking on her phone.

And freeze he did at the voice that bellowed out of an unseen intercom. His blood ran cold and to add to his horror, he heard the tell tale sign of armor plating shifting and reconfiguring. He looked to Vince and saw his look of awe turned to one of horror.

Snapping around, Jack caught the end of the transformation. No longer was there a highly customized vehicle, but a massive humanoid machine. Legs and arms obviously were made from the sides and rear of the car, shifting and breaking to give an armored muscular look. The hood making up the chest with an obvious blue Decepticon badge in the center of the Shaker. A head formed and shifted, almost resembling Optimus Prime, till a mouth guard slammed shut under a pair of green optics. His height nearly placed him at the same level as Bulkhead, another friend and member of the good faction of Cybertronians called the Autobots.

Screams erupted from all the witnesses around them and Jack took that as his cue to start running. He dropped the dead weight of his school bag and made a sprint for the school itself. He could feel the thud of the ground as the Con gave chase.

Managing to cross the distance and make it back into the school Jack looked back in time to see the Con's arm burst through the glass doors, swiping at air in order to grab him but Jack was out of his reach. That didn't stop him from running though. Being the good guy that he is, Jack had to lure the Con away from the other civilians. But his mind raced with the thought of what this Con was doing. It wasn't normal. Never had one changed in public with so many eye witnesses. And to openly address him?

Rounding corners and running down long halls and nearly into the janitor, Jack came out into the gymnasium. He was only a basketball court away from the back doors that lead to the football and baseball fields. From there, he'd have to jump a fence and hope he could find a place to hide. Moving into a dead sprint for the doors, Jack wasn't prepared for the side wall to burst open, destroying the court bleachers and the locker rooms. Jack was thrown through the air. His side impacted the smooth floor and he slid nearly ten feet. Coughing out the dust he inhaled, Jack looked to see the Con ripping open the ceiling in order to make room for his entrance. Jack didn't wait and got back on his feet, barely missing the hand that reached down for him. He shoulder rushed the door, bursting back outside and continuing his mad run for the fence.

He had a long run ahead, but pushed on, even with his legs starting to burn. He felt something run down his head, and thought it was sweat till it got in his eye. Wiping it away with his sleeve, he saw it was blood. Must have taken a blow to the head when the Con came through the wall. Worrying about it later, Jack focused on his escape.

He managed to pass the football field, nearly to the baseball field, when he heard that familiar roar and looked to his side to see the black muscle car speed up next to him. The driver door swung open and slammed into Jack, knocking him off his feet. He hit shoulder first, his body rolling over like a rag doll till he was on his back. Had he hit the grass, it would have been fine, but unfortunately he had landed on the pavement portion that surrounded the field, and was bruised and bloodier than before. His signature gray shirt was torn, leaving him with the long sleeve he wore underneath.

The black muscle car drifted around, transforming midway, using its momentum to roll onto one knee in a crouch before upriting and marching towards the downed human. Left hand switched to a blaster, but he did not aim as he approached Jack.

Though his vision was slightly blurred Jack saw the Con approaching, and though in pain, got up and started to run again, but only got a few feet before the ground beside him exploded. The Con had fired a warning blast to stop him, but the attack was enough to throw Jack through the air once more, and turn his world black…

**OOO**

Arcee knew there was trouble the minute she saw police and emergency vehicles in the school parking lot. Her holographic rider, Sadie, didn't move a 'muscle' as Arcee rolled in, and took in the site before her. Nothing was out of the ordinary till she spotted the gaping hole in the front of the school. Further scanning allowed her to spot Jack's bag and bike helmet lying on the ground not too far from the bully Vince's car. The boy was there along with that girl Sierra talking with police, pointing in any direction as he gave his statement, which was the same testimony as every other eyewitness in the area. Each one saying a black car changed into a robot and started chasing one of the students. Didn't take a genius to figure out what they were talking about.

No longer wishing to waste time, Arcee peeled out of the barking lot, racing towards the school with a quick sweep for any energon signatures. She didn't bother to go around any of the civilians, banking on the idea that they would simply get out of her way. Which they did.

At first she found nothing on her scans till she detected a sudden spike in energon levels. One that all but shouted a blaster had been used nearby. She turned sharp, rear tire tearing a trench into the grass and dirt before she moved to circle the school. Coming in hard around the corner she saw the perpetrator. It was a Con she had never seen before but that wasn't going to stop her. He was hunched down examining something on the ground and to Arcee's horror, it was a prone human body. The Con rolled it over and she saw it was Jack, eyes closed and a trail of red running along side his face that could only be human blood.

Seeing red herself Arcee increased her speed. She transformed, and the second her feet hit the ground, she leapt into the air with her momentum hurling her high. Not wanting to risk hitting Jack, she decided to come in with a kick instead of using her blasters. As she came down, heel ready to take the Con's head off, Arcee was not prepared for the sudden movement of the unknown as he spun around, arm outstretched to grab her leg. Using her own momentum against her, as well as his own, the Con spun Arcee around and threw her towards the school.

Her back crashed into the school wall, part of it collapsing over her but not enough to impede her. She immediately stood up, blasters at the ready only to pause as she saw the Con stand with Jack held firmly in his hand. His other hand held up to his helm. "I have the target." The voice sounded young like Smokescreen's, but a firmness that reminded her of Prime. "Open a bridge." He spared a glance at Arcee, green locking with blue, as the familiar swirling vortex of a Ground Bridge burst to life behind him.

"No!" Arcee cried, charging towards the Con, intent on getting Jack back.

The Con watched on, before turning and simply walking into the bridge. It closed long before Arcee could reach it, ending the battle long before it even began and taking away Arcee's partner…

**OOO**

Arcee had long last returned to base after calling in an emergency bridge. Ratchet of course was furious till he heard the report from Arcee that Jack was taken by a Decepticon. An emergency was called and all members of Team Prime arrived, taking in Arcee's debriefing of what events took place. The other two children, Raf Esquivel and Miko Nakadai, were present and none too thrilled about what had happened with Jack. Raf was obviously upset but trying to hold back what sad emotions that were building up. Miko was doing her best to keep him upbeat, but even she was beginning to crack.

Ratchet was silent, eyes darting across the floor as if finding an answer there. Bumblebee and Smokescreen looked lost, hands clenching and unclenching into fists. Bulkhead and Wheeljack of course were giving their two scents about finding the nearest Con and pounding him for information. Optimus was silent, but the look on his face said otherwise.

"Arcee," the Autobot leader called.

Quickly, the femme looked to her leader. "Sir?"

"Were there any distinguishable markings on this new foe?"

Arcee shrugged, shoulders sagging in defeat. "Asides the obvious Decepticon insignia? Nothing. But he was fast despite his size if that's anything to go by."

Bumblebee gave his part into the conversation with a series of beeps. Bulkhead nodded his head to what the scout said to the group. "I was thinking the same thing. This Con just reveals himself in a public area, not caring who sees him, and goes straight for Jack? Even Megatron doesn't have his goons do that."

"And if he did, Megatron would have already sent whatever message he is trying to send," Ratchet said, speaking up after being silent or so long.

Smokescreen scratched as his chin, putting the pieces together himself. "So… what? An outside job maybe?" Everyone looked to him, and he found himself the center of attention. "I mean… maybe it wasn't the Cons, but just this one. A solo job."

"Like a personal thing?" Wheeljack asked, then turning to Arcee. "Who did Jack, and I quote human slang, 'piss' off this time?"

Arcee narrowed her optics at the wrecker. "Like I said, I've never seen him before. Face was shielded too. Couldn't get a look at his face." But she paused, optics examining the floor in thought till they snapped back up. "But I did hear his voice. Recorded it into my data banks." A panel on her arm popped open, her dainty femme fingers dancing across the controls before plugging it into the pain computer.

/_I have the target. Open a bridge._/

She played it again two more times before unplugging it. She looked to the group to see if anyone could recognize the voice, but no one could place it.

"He still mentioned a bridge!" Raf called, getting everyone's attention. "That means it had to be the Cons. They're the only ones other than us to have a Ground Bridge system."

Wheeljack pounded a fist into his open palm. "That's all I needed to hear. Just give us coordinates to the nearest energon cache that Megatron has and we'll beat some answers out each and ever Con we come across. Right Bulkhead?"

The large wrecker narrowed his optics. "Yea."

"Now just hold on," Ratchet spoke, stopping the two from doing something reckless. "We can't just simply run off half-cocked for this. Jack's life could be on the line."

"If a Con has him, his life IS on the line, Ratchet," Wheeljack retort, pointing a digit at the old medic.

Placing a hand on Ratchet's shoulder, Optimus stopped his old friend from continuing the argument. "I am afraid Ratchet is correct, Wheeljack. Until we hear otherwise, we must not provoke Megatron from doing anything rash."

"So that's it? We wait and see?"

No one liked it. Everyone wanted to do something, but there was nothing any of them could do.

Arcee blinked and looked to Optimus. "June."

It didn't slip the Autobot leader that June Darby, Jack's mother, was going to have to be informed of the situation. He had hoped that something would come up. A message from Megatron or a clue as to Jack's whereabouts for them to properly think of a rescue. But neither presented itself. "I will inform Mrs. Darby of the situation personally," Optimus announced, turning to Ratchet. "Open a ground bridge just outside the city."

"I'll come with you," Arcee said, stepping up next to Prime, who looked down to her. "He was my responsibility. I should be the one to talk to her."

Optimus nodded, and looked to the rest of the team. "Until we hear otherwise, we are on high alert. Wheeljack." The wrecker perked up upon hearing his designation. "I want you in the skies intercepting any communications that the Decepticons broadcast. If Jack's name is mentioned, I want to know about it."

Wheeljack gave a nod. "You got it Prime." He wasted no time running off to get to his ship, Bulkhead watching his long time buddy head off.

Optimus returned his gaze to the group. "Bulkhead, Bumblebee." Both moved to attention as Prime addressed them. "You will escort your charges back home, but remain in the area for surveillance purposes. The Decepticon in question is not afraid to show himself and wouldn't hesitate to attack either in the open."

Bumblebee gave a quick beep and nod, before moving over to gather up Raf. Bulkhead gave a nod. "You got it, Prime. Come on Miko." The larger wrecker scooped the young teen girl up gently in his hand.

The familiar swirl of the ground bridge erupted before them. Transformed, Bumblebee and Bulkhead were the first to leave with the children, followed by Optimus and Arcee. When the bridge was closed, it left Smokescreen and Ratchet alone.

The newest addition to their ranks looked to the old medic. "What do you think?"

Ratchet shook his head, hand to his chin in thought. "I honestly don't know. If the world was aware of our war, it'd be expected. But Megatron has never been this open with attacking the children. At night perhaps under the cover of darkness, but in daylight?"

"So maybe I was right then? An outside party being involved I mean."

"Maybe. But we most hope its not."

"Why's that?"

"Cause if you are correct, we have no idea what to expect."

**OOO**

The four Autobots and two humans soon separated upon reaching Jasper. Optimus drove silently with Arcee trailing behind him. It wasn't long before they road up on the Darby residence, the sun beginning to set in the distance. A familiar black car was parked in the driveway, and at the door was none other than William Fowler, their connection to the US Government.

"Oh this isn't going to be good," Arcee remarked, seeing the US Agent at the front door, and not alone.

June was their, and already she was visibly upset. Fowler looked to be trying to calm the woman down, but she wasn't having any of it. When they both noticed Optimus and Arcee rolling up, it took some convincing for June not to approach the two. Getting her to stay at the door, or to go inside, Agent Fowler moved down the drive and greeted the two. For obvious reasons, neither changed into their bipedal forms.

"Prime," Fowler greeted.

"Agent Fowler," Prime returned the greeting. "I assume you are aware of the situation."

"You bet Lady Liberties toga I do," He remarked, hands on his hips. "A Con up and transforms in broad daylight in front of a high school, and attacks one of their students." He gave a shake of his head. "Find that a bit hard to miss. Not to mention a blue motor cycle speeding around as well," he added, looking to Arcee as she pulled into the driveway, close to June, who still stood at the door, arms wrapped around herself. "I came here when I heard it was Jack. Figured I'd break the news to her, knowing your team would be on the case." Taking a breath, he let his arms drop as he looked to June. "Speaking of which, has there been any word?"

"None so far."

"This isn't typical Con work, is it?"

"Not on this planet."

Fowler sighed, scratching his brow. "Fortunately, eyewitnesses gave us a description of the licenses plate, and make and model. One student was very thorough in the cars look. Must have been a car buff. And we've got all footage from the campus security cameras."

"That will be a big help in identifying the kidnapper," Optimus remarked, 'looking' to June as she continued to stare down at her feet.

"Identify? You mean you don't know who it is?" Fowler asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.

Optimus shifted his 'gaze' to the agent. "Arcee had a brief engagement with the Decepticon. She said it was one she had never seen before."

"Great, a new Con in town," Fowler said with a roll of his eyes.

"And so far his motives are unclear."

Arcee 'looked' to June, her Sadie hologram flickering as 'she' turned to the older Darby. "June, I want to apologize…"

June shook her head, still looking down at the ground. "I don't want to hear it," she said, hand brushing a tear away. "I just want my son back." With that, she entered the house, the door slamming behind her.

It was short, but her message was heard. Arcee slowly rolled back out of the driveway, and took off down the road, far faster than what she should be doing in a urban neighborhood. Prime watched her disappear around the corner from his rearview mirror. Fowler watched as well and then to Prime. "Shouldn't you go after her?"

"I could not catch her even if I tried. And Arcee needs some time to be alone."

"And what about you?"

Optimus was silent for a few seconds before answering. "I will remain here to watch for any suspicious activity. Rafael and Miko are also under surveillance in case this new Decepticon decides to strike again."

Fowler nodded and looked to the Darby home. "Very well Prime. But I'll send a team over in a few hours to relieve you. In the mean time, the school security footage should be coming over to the base. I'll go over it myself and present anything I find useful."

"Thank you, Agent Fowler."

The old agent gave a nod before going to his car. Shortly departing, Optimus was left alone to watch after June Darby…

**OOO**

A day went by with nothing new. The school was closed for repairs, while a cover story was presented to the public. The story presented said a gas line had gone off and caused the damaged to the school, and had caused the hallucination of a giant robot. When it came to the whereabouts of Jack Darby, it was simply stated that the young man was caught in the blast, and had to be immediately hospitalized to take care of his injuries.

Of course the story was hard to swallow, especially for the ones that were present, but those outside of it seemed satisfied. Unfortunately a teacher was fired due to claims of hysteria involving the supposed 'giant robot'.

Fowler to his word, worked over the footage to find any details that were of use and took his findings back to the Agency to match anything they had on record.

Wheeljack was still gone in the _Jackhammer_, following Prime's orders to monitor any and all Decepticon frequencies that he could tap into for clues to Jack's whereabouts.

Since the school was closed, Raf and Miko returned to the base trying to act like nothing had happened. Both found that difficult to do. Raf, having a copy of the footage and images of the Decepticon, ran a program to try and match the images on the net. Anything that could give them a lead, no matter how small. Miko though couldn't bring herself to do very much. When playing a game, she would pause to look at the second controller, then simply turn the game off. She didn't even give her guitar a second look. With Jack missing, the normal eccentric Asian girl seemed drained. This of course worried Bulkhead, who would try and cheer the girl up with tales from his time on Cybertron, but she hardly showed her usual spark, metaphorically speaking of course.

Optimus took his time again to personally watch over June Darby till he was relieved by Fowler's men. Other than that he was back to aiding Ratchet in searching for more Iacon Relics. As for the old medic, he was quieter than usual, keeping focus on his work.

Smokescreen did his part going on patrols while Arcee followed her own route, though hardly saying a word to anyone.

As for the Decepticons, they were quiet. Uncomfortably quite. If it was indeed them behind Jack's kidnapping, they would have sent a message. Either coded, in the return of Jack's body. But neither came. And that sent a chill up everyone's spine.

**OOO**

Nearly three weeks pass and there was still no word of Jack. The school was repaired enough to allow students to return. And not much changed, if anything at all. Everyone acted like he wasn't gone, or they just didn't care. Only a few did notice, but didn't say anything. They were mostly the ones who had seen the Decepticon chase after Jack, and they didn't want to be sent to the nearest mental hospital for telling stories.

Sierra, knowing that Jack tended to hang out with Miko and Raf, approached asking about his condition, considering he was 'caught in the blast'. They could only tell her that Jack was sent to an out of state hospital that had better facilities to tend to his wounds.

The routine didn't change for anyone tied to Jack, except June taking some time off while the search for her son continued. She hardly left the house and looked like a wreck when she did. No one could fault her. Arcee would at times tail her in order to keep and eye on her, while Prime took her place at night till he was again relieved by Fowler's men.

Nothing changed, until…

**OOO**

It was fairly quiet in Chicago, aside from normal mundane human life. Everyone went about their business like any other day. Right then it was lunch time, so most if not all were stuffing their faces with much needed nourishment in order to progress through the day.

The only thing to stand out was the sudden appearance of a green/blue vortex that just emptied out into the middle of an intersection. This of course caused everyone to freeze up on what they were doing, followed by mass hysteria as everyone on the street did their damnedest to get away from the unknown green swirl. A few piles up even occurred upon their attempt to get away. None were prepared for what came out of the vortex though.

First came a dark gray, almost black helicopter which quickly took to the sky and hovered over the vortex. Following it was an unidentified jet of sorts with sleek, sharp angles that gave it a stealth look. It took to the air and circled the city.

On the ground followed out green military tank, along with a blue armored truck and tan colored Hummer H2 with a gun placement on the roof. Last to follow out were two large diesel trucks. One had an attached trailer with large gun placements while sporting similar sand color scheme as the Hummer, while the second was a black and gray Peterbilt with red tinted windows and a chrome trim. Once the black semi truck was through, the portal vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Silence fell with only the sounds of the helicopter and the circling yet high above. Most were left stunned by the event, and watched on silently till each vehicle made a distinctive sound that very few recognized.

Each machine began to break down and shift into a new form, rising up on bipedal legs. Arms formed and shortly each one sported a humanoid head with it's own unique flair or design. From the sky, the stealth fighter and helicopter did the same, with both crashing down to the earth at either side of the grounded vehicles. The tank and artillery vehicle were tallest of the group, with the armored truck and Hummer being the smallest. The black semi shifted and formed last, stepping to the front of the group as it's head formed, again resembling a certain Cybertronian that only a select group would know. Out of all of them, one had a distinctive female design. This was the one which formed from the stealth fighter. As the bipedal black semi stood at the forefront of the group, the female moving to stand at his side, hand resting on his shoulder while the other rested on her hip.

No move was made and all was quiet till the authorities and news crew began to arrive on the scene. Though pointless, the police warded off any nearby civilians while news reporters began to set up. A perimeter was set a few meters back, and some officer actually drew weapons to ready if force was needed in some way. Granted their weapons would do little to no damage at all.

When all was set, and no move was made, the semi mech again approached with the femme seeker at his side. He stopped only a few feet from the edge of the perimeter. "Citizens of Earth," he spoke, red optics glancing down at the cameras aimed at him and his group. "My designation is Scourge, leader of the Combaticons."

**OOO**

Back at Autobot HQ, all were silent as they watched the main screen, seeing the arrival of these new Cybertronians who appeared in the middle of Chicago. The only ones present were Ratchet, Raf, Miko, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee. Smokescreen and Arcee were on patrol while Optimus went to scope out a possible Energon deposit.

"Combaticons?!" Ratchet shouted, his jaw having already hit the floor in surprise. "I've never… and to show up in the open?! Do they not… I mean…" Needless to say, he was almost speechless.

Bulkhead gave his head a scratch, a little lost and confused on what was going on. "Never heard of them myself. But the one in front…"

"Looks like Nemesis Prime!" Miko shouted, leaning over the back of the couch they frequented when visiting the base.

"But," Raf started, looking up to Miko. "He actually called himself Scourge." He turned back to the screen, noticing the similarities to Optimus and the fake Prime they had dealt with some time back, but there were obvious differences. While Optimus ad a much sleeker, smooth build, this one was a little more boxy but never the less a still imposing figure. Height he may have been equal to Prime. Looking at each one, Raf blinked as one did look highly familiar. "Is that Breakdown?"

Bulkhead immediately examined each one closer, and sure enough there was Breakdown, standing next to the one that had changed from the Hummer. His missing eye he once sported was repaired, leaving only a distinct scar running down his orange face. "If Breakdown is with them, that just means they're Decepticons with a different name." He looked to the Autobot medic. "We need to call the others…"

"Wait, there's more," Raf said, focusing entirely on the screen.

**OOO**

"People of Earth," Scourge continued, raising his hands slightly, but not enough to a threatening gesture. "We come here, openly, to ask for asylum on your planet." He paused, watching each one chatter amongst themselves. "We come from the planet Cybertron. An entire machine world, as opposed to your world which is entirely organic. Our species was once great, but civil war broke out long before your people left caves as shelters." His hands fell to his sides, head hanging down. "We still fight to this day, across the stars. Two warring factions; Autobots and Decepticons."

Scourge briefly looked to the seeker beside him, her head lowered slightly with a lost look on her features.

He turned back to the cameras once more. "Unfortunately the war isn't just in the stars anymore. Its here on your planet." Gasps echoed amongst the men and women standing before the group of Cybertronians, many whispering amongst themselves. "Secretly, your governments have been withholding the knowledge of this war from you, to keep you safe. But my colleagues and I believe it shouldn't be this way."

"How long!?" one reported shouted, gaining attention from the black armor Combaticon. She stepped back a little when his red eyes landed on her.

"We are not sure. But there has been some evidence that shows both factions have been present on your planet for some time now." He turned again to the one in blue. "This, is Breakdown. He himself has been present on your planet for, by your terms of time, a few months now."

"Its true," Breakdown spoke, stepped past the seeker and up to Scourge. "I was a member of the faction called the Decepticons, till I was abandoned and left for dead."

**OOO**

Everyone back a the base was a little shocked by the openness of this Scourge. He had presented a summary of the war openly to the human populace, even stating the government knew all along and did not tell them that aliens were present on their planet, much less a civil war. But this matter not to Bulkhead, as he narrowed his eyes and pointed at the screen. "That is not Breakdown," he stated, his hand falling to his side in a fist.

Ratchet arched a brow. "And you know this how?"

"I've fought the guy for a long time. I know his moves, the way he walks, AND the way he talks. And that isn't his voice."

"He does sound familiar," Raf said, scratching his head. "I can't place it though"

**OOO**

"Scourge and his team found me. Repaired me. I owe them a great deal and so left my life as a Decepticon and joined them. And I am willing to give any information asked of me to prove of what is happening here on your planet."

"Who are the leaders of these factions?!" another reported shouted.

"What are their intentions?!" came another.

Breakdown nodded to the first. "The leaders of the Autobots and the Decepticons are called Optimus Prime, and Megatron, respectively of course. The Autobots are a force you can trust, however. They have fought many long, and hard battles to ensure that Megatron and his lot do not succeed in their quest of dominance."

"Dominance?!"

Scourge nodded his head, hand resting on Breakdown shoulder. "Yes. Megatron started the war on our home world, and has continued to the point our species may be endangered. All for the selfish goal of ruling all."

"And this Optimus?"

"The only thing standing in his way, along with his small team of Autobots." With a blink, Scourge looks past the gathered onlookers and noticed several black vehicles approaching. As they stopped, men in black suits emerged and moved through the crowd. He looked down another street, seeing the same thing, and then up into the air as he took notice of black helicopters circling the area, pushing back any news choppers that were flying too close.

**OOO**

"Looks like the Feds showed up," Miko commented, eating a bag of popcorn. From where she procured said bag, no one knows, nor asked as they hadn't noticed.

"Hopefully this won't end badly," Ratchet commented, already hovering over the controls to the ground bridge in case he needs to send Bulkhead to deal with any impending collateral damage. "I've called the others to return to base."

Too late, however, as the men in black moved in, forcing the camera men to shut off their devices. The screen shook as a brief scuffle unfolded and then promptly went to an emergency broadcast.

A screech of tires caught their attention as Smokescreen all but drifted into the room, immediately transforming into robot mode. "What'd I miss?!" He looked to the screen, his body sagging as he saw he was late. "At least tell me you recorded it."

"Of course!" Ratchet said. "If Prime hasn't heard it over the radio, he'll need to see it for himself, though I'm quite sure any and all news broadcasters are going to be replaying the events over and over."

"That's right," Raf said, looking to Ratchet. "They can't block them all. And there are way too many people who saw them. There's no way they can cover it up."

"True." Smokescreen looked to Ratchet. "How long till the boss bot shows up?"

"He is currently on his way now. Should only be a few minutes."

"And Arcee?"

"She…" Ratchet squinted at the screen. "Huh. That's funny. She hasn't moved from her present location."

"And where's that?"

**OOO**

Arcee stood, looking down at the pile or rocks that was stacked to pose as a headstone. Upon the top of that stack was a broken metal horn. She had been doing this a lot now for the past three weeks, visiting the last physical memory of an old friend. Why, she couldn't answer. Maybe to find an answer to what she has to do now? It had been too long since Jack's abduction and they still had no clue as to who had taken him and why. And there was still nothing from Megatron, who would have by now revealed what he had done to Jack if had actually taken him.

Arcee hoped he was still out there. Alive somewhere. But that worried her as well. How was he treated? Was he being tortured? Experimented on? She shuddered at the thought, her arms embracing herself. "I don't know what to do, Cliff," she said, staring at the pile of rocks. "I had started to fall into a slump when you were taken from us. Jack helped me out of it but now he's gone." Her head dipped down slightly. "Is it me? Am I cursed to have any partner I team with end up disappearing or dying on me?"

"You mustn't blame yourself, Arcee," Optimus Prime spoke, slowly stepping up the hill to greet her. He had taken his time when approaching, letting her speak with the long past spirit of their former team mate. When Ratchet informed Optimus that Arcee hadn't moved from her position, he diverted his course to the one place he knew she would be. "And Jack wouldn't want you to do so either."

"But it is my fault. I should have been there." She didn't even bother to address her leader, still focusing on the rocks. "First Tailgate. Then Cliffjumper. And now Jack."

"I was the one who ordered you out on that mission," Optimus stated, stepping beside her to cast his own gaze at the grave. "The blame falls on me as well, if you continue to think you are the only one at fault. I myself could have easily taken the mission myself."

Arcee shook her head. "No. You were needed to continue the search for Iacon Relics."

"Even still, I should have assigned another to the mission, or to accompany Jack. If not myself." He placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling her lean into it slightly. "We will find him. And the one who took him. I promise you this."

**OOO**

As the MiB and police continued to push the civilians back, one MiB man approached, tucking away his glasses as he stood before the group of robotic aliens. "Excuse me," he addressed, hands clasped together in the front. He was an older gentleman by Earth standards with peppered hair combed back. A life of action and strife in his eyes, but not a sign of fatigue in his stance. As if he was still in his prime.

Scourge and Breakdown both turned to the man. The Prime look-alike slide his face shield aside, showing again a much similar face, but held a slight distinctive youthful appearance. "Yes?"

"I'm Agent Eugene Kay." Scourge gave a nod to the man. "I'm part of a 'disclosed' agency of the US government that is tasked with dealing with extraterrestrials such as yourselves," he said, gesturing to the group. "An associate of mine works along side the group called the Autobots. Now I'm sure he would have informed me of any new arrivals, so I'm guessing you didn't let anyone know."

"The need for secrecy was to insure the Decepticons did not try and interfere."

"And the Autobots?"

The pause that followed the question last only a second or two. "We have our reasons."

Kay arched a brow at the answer, and then glanced back at the area behind him. "Gave the people quite a show. Not to mention spilling a whole lot beans." He turned back to the towering robot. "Care to explain?"

The one who had changed from a truck himself, the big one sporting the large cannons on his back stepped forward, brushing past the 'Tank-bot' and 'Hummer-bot', each step shaking the ground beneath their feet. "We don't need to answer to you," he stated in a deep voice, slight ting of something like an Australian accent to it.

Scourge held a hand up, gesturing to the bot he had it. "Steady, Onslaught."

Kay arched a brow at the large Combaticon, then looked back to Scourge. "Why the spill, Scourge?"

"We felt the people deserved to know," he stated as he turned back to the agent.

"You decided that on your own. When Optimus and his people came, they spoke with our people first. They didn't make a grand appearance in one of our larger cities."

"We do things differently," the female spoke. She looked away, causally looking to her fingers like a human would should their be any dirt under the nail. She saw Kay looking at her, brow arched. "The names Take-Off, by the way."

"Charmed," Kay remarked, turning his focus back on Scourge. "So what is your plan, Scourge? You said you are looking for asylum here."

"That is correct."

"And what do you plan to do here? I'm sure asylum can be given but what do we get out of the equation. We gave it to Prime on the grounds he keeps the Decepticons at bay, which he has so far, though barely."

"I'm sure Optimus Prime has done so without handing over any knowledge of advanced technology."

"In the ways of medical, perhaps. He has stated he wouldn't hand over anything that could possibly be weaponized."

"And if we were to?" Breakdown asked, a small smirk forming on his lips.

Kay wagged a finger at the former Con. "Don't think I've forgotten about you." Said wagging finger stopped to point. "How do know you can trust him? We've got reports given by Prime and his team on this one, and some dates back before his arrival on earth from the one called Bulkhead."

"He has earned our trust," Scourge simply stated.

"How so?"

"Locations of possible energon deposits that Megatron hasn't tapped into yet and the ones he has."

Kay nodded in understanding. Energon being the life blood of their people, it stands to reason that if one decided to give knowledge as to where you could find such deposits, they could possibly be trusted.

"Now do you want weapons or not?" Breakdown asked, crossing his massive arms. "I'm sure your people would like to have an edge against the Decepticons. Prime can't be everywhere at once and his numbers are small in comparison."

"You would now, wouldn't you," Kay remarked, eying the Con. He didn't take the bait as he thought, watching Breakdown simply stand there with a grin. "It's not my call to make, however. I'll need to talk with my superiors and see what can be done." He took out a PDA, stylist poking away at the screen before holding it up to the giants before him. "See these coordinates? Meet us there in three days to talk about a trade. Asylum for technology."

Zooming in, they took down the coordinates, saving it to their databanks. Instantly behind the group, a ground bridge appeared. 'Tank-bot' was the first to move through, followed by Onslaught, 'Hummer-bot', and 'Chopper-bot'. Breakdown, still smirking, turned and left as well, arms still folded across his chest.

Scourge gave a nod to the agent. He turned slowly and moved to the vortex, Take-Off moving quickly to his side and putting her arm around his. Kay arched a brow at that, watching two giant robots walk off, arm-in-arm like some kind of couple. Slightly disturbing.

**OOO**

"That's not him," Arcee stated, looking at the frozen image of Scourge. "Not nearly as big. Built more like 'Bee or Smokescreen." Said scout beeped at the mention of his name.

"And his Alt-mode wasn't a truck from what eyewitnesses said," Ratchet said, scratching his chin. "But what worries me now is his motives. He's given us away, Optimus. The world knows we exist and that we are on their home planet."

"Unfortunately all we can do is wait," their leader spoke, staring at the image of Scourge. Most specifically the insignia that graced his shoulders similar to the Autobot one that Prime had, as well as his fellow Autobots. It resembled Scourge's face with the face shield closed. "So far these Combaticons have shown that they wish to make peaceful relations to the humans."

"That's a good thing though," Smokescreen said. "I mean, we don't have to hide as much anymore, right?"

"Telling small groups is one thing," Ratchet said to the young bot. "But the entire world as a whole? Can lead to mass hysteria. They saw them transform. How long before people start poking their cars to see if it'll change, or worse, out of fear start to destroy any motor vehicle they come across that acts funny. Paranoia could blossom from this."

"It was planned at one point should the war end, we would reveal ourselves to the human populace," Optimus noted. "To form an alliance of our species and to help man span beyond their home. To show them they are not alone."

"But now these new bots did it for us," Arcee said, crossing her arms. "And asking for asylum? Are they wanting to stay out of the fight?"

"If it is their wish, they have a right to it."

"I'm not buying it," Arcee said with a shake of her head.

"Neither do I," Bulkhead said as he entered the room, Miko sitting on his shoulder, eating another bag of popcorn. "That Breakdown wasn't the same. He was different."

Optimus looked to the wrecker. "Are you positive?"

"I bet my spark on it. That isn't Breakdown."

Optimus sighed, turning to address the group as a whole. "Imposter or not, he is affiliated with this new faction. If they are seeking asylum here on earth, we will respect their wishes. If they choose to aid or interfere with any of our operations against the Decepticons, we will deal with them accordingly."

"They don't seem to like the Cons much," Mike pointed out. "Maybe they'll help us take'em down!" She added with a zealous thrust of her fist, nearly spilling her popcorn.

"But they don't seem to overly fond of us either," Arcee pointed, looking to the over excited youth. "Even though Megatron and his lot started the war, these new guys seemed to lump us in with them."

That bit of information didn't settle well for team Prime. They were fighting hard to end the war, and to think possible civilians from their own home would accuse them alongside the Decepticons for its continuity.

**OOO**

As Scourge exited the event horizon of the ground bridge, Take-Off removed her arm from his, but not before dragging the tips of her fingers up to his shoulder and across his chest, sultry look on her face as she moved past him and on to another location within the ship. The Prime look-a-like watched her leave, optics briefly settling on the sway of well balanced hips before looking to the work being performed in the main bridge room. MECH soldier and engineers scurried across the room, making quick work to get the downed ship back full functionality. The rest of his team had broken off to do whatever they seemed fit to do to pass the time till they were to meet with the Agent about their exchange. Silas, or rather, Breakdown, stood to the side conversing with some of his technicians about the retrofit of the ship, once called the _Harbinger._

He looked up, seeing the ships lighting had been repaired. It was hard to deal with flickering lights in light shades of purple. How Decepticons could do it was beyond him.

Scourge approached Silas/Breakdown, standing at attention before his superior. "Sir."

The former human turned mech turned, a smile gracing his face. "Scourge, you did a fine job out there. I was pleased with your performance."

"Thank you sir," he replied with a nod. "I was beginning to worry I hadn't performed to your expectations."

Silas/Breakdown placed a hand on the taller bots arm, leading him away from the teams quickly working over the ship. Even more wore working diligently in the halls, performing patch works along the walls and inner workings. Some doors would stick, requiring a bit of Cybertronian brute force to push them along. Such an occasion was performed by the 'Tank-Bot', Brawl, who was prying open a formerly locked room with his immense strength. Once the door was open enough, a large team of soldier and technicians rushed in to begin work of repairs.

"How long till the ship is functional, sir?"

"It'll be some time. We were lucky the ground bridge was till intact, just low on power."

As the two passed another corridor, Scourge took notice of the 'Hummer-Bot', Swindle, with Take-Off. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed while Swindle seemed to be trying to put the moves on said femme. She didn't look to pleased. When he moved too close to her liking, she simple placed a single digit to his forehead, and pushed him aside to walk away. This caused the black armored mech to snicker slightly.

"But we were fortunate that we found it, along with the array technology that lye within."

"Hey Boss!" Swindle called in a slightly weaseley tone, catching up to the two. His height placed him at least to the same level as Breakdown, if not a little shorter by a few inches, in human measurement. The two turned to Swindle, seeing him look to their true leader, hand on his hip. "I was wondering, could we get out of here for some fresh air? You know, stretch our wheels or something. Not like we're human anymore, this place feels cramped."

"And allow or enemies to locate us?" Silas/Breakdown barked, glaring at the Combaticon. "This ship shields our signatures, so neither the Autobots or the Decepticons can find us. We step away from the shielding, they will notice the odd energon signatures in this area and come to investigate." He pushed a finger to Swindles chest, causing him to backup slightly. "I will not have our plans jeopardized because you are feeling a little claustrophobic!"

"Sir," Scourge said, stepping almost between the two. "If I may suggest, maybe just being outside the ship, within the shielding. There is a limited range but is safe from detection." He rotated his shoulder slightly. "Even I have to admit, it is uncomfortably cramped compared to the outside. We not need to go anywhere."

Silas/Breakdown glared at Scourge, but relented. Even he was still adjusting to his new form, even after so many weeks of putting it to good use. "Very well, but you know the limit. Take a break. We have three days before we meet with our new 'allies'. During that time, I'll have our teams work up a dampener of some kind to shield or signatures so we can progress beyond the shield."

With that, Silas/Breakdown left the two. Swindle of course was overjoyed, hating being stuck in tight areas. Yes, the halls were big enough for at least for two of them to walk side by side with a little room to spare, but with so many MECH soldiers and technicians running around, you had to be careful where you stepped.

Before Swindle could move, he found his shoulder in the iron grip of their 'leader' and thrust against the wall. Scourge glared down at Swindle, red optics burning into his blue. "Don't think I do not know your past, Swindle. I know you were a former arms dealer."

"How else do you think Silas got all the good stuff?" Swindle said, glaring back at Scourge before being slammed again against the wall.

"Know this, you make any attempt to contact any of your old 'friends' without Silas' orders, I'll personally rip out your artificial spark. We just begun our objective, we do not need you risking it's exposure."

"I get it, I get it!" Swindle said, hands up in defense. He wasn't about to piss off Silas' right hand man. "But even you have to admit, this place is cramped…"

"What is going on here?" spoke a slight Japanese accented voice.

The two turned to see the 'Chopper-Bot', Vortex, as he approached, face still completely shielded. His stance looked tense, like he was ready to spring into action should a fight break out.

Scourge released his hold on Swindle, giving the Combaticon a glare before looking to Vortex. "Just reminding Swindle of the rules. And on another note, Silas has said we can step outside for some air but within the limits of the shields to keep our signatures hidden."

Vortex said nothing, continuing to stare at the two. He then gave a nod, and turned into the direction of the recently completed airlock that lead outside the ship. Swindle glared at Scourge from the corner of his optic then followed after the mysterious Combaticon.

"That was pretty entertaining for a second," a feminine voice spoke from behind. Scourge looked back, seeing Take-Off stroll over to him, stopping just a foot away with a hand on her hip. "I was actually hoping you'd put a few dents into him." She frowned, thinking of that disgusting smirk he kept giving her earlier. "Wish I had done so myself."

"Silas would have been displeased if I'd put my foot up his, and I quote the Cybertronian term, 'aft'," he said with a bit of amusement in his tone. "We can't afford our team to break over one's personal greed."

"Cause we're above those things now, right? Immortality, strong robotic bodies." She dragged a sharp digit over the red glass portion of his armor. "But we could use a good waxing now and then. Keep up a good shine." She gave a sultry smile, yellow optics locking with red. "Play your cards right, big boy, and I'll let you wax the right parts."

An abrupt, and obviously fake cough, caught the two's attention, Take-Off frowning as she noticed Brawl standing beside them. "Not to interrupt," he spoke, slight southern accent to his voice, "but I heard something about fresh air?"

Scourge gave a roll of his eyes. "Within the shield's limits," he gave as a short reply. Brawl passed, making sure not to step over the technicians scurrying around them. Scourge had forgotten that they were surrounded by the MECH soldiers, and looked down, taking notice that some were looking away. Though their faces were covered, their fidgeting and trying to look like they didn't see anything gave him the impression they had been watching Take-Off's little display towards him. "Do you all mind?"

Take-Off gave a little bit of a giggle, taking careful steps past Scourge while still dragging a finger across his armor. "Offer still stands. We do have three days before our big meeting, after all. And I'd like to look my best."

**OOO**

Silas entered the brig, passing recently repaired cells. Energy fields were being tested to how much they could yield in case they were to capture any enemies, or subjects for testing. Couldn't be too sure of what the future holds. Moving further back into the holding area, past a set of automatic doors that slid apart as he approached, he came in as Onslaught delivered another devastating blow to the rooms current captive. When he noticed Silas approach, he stopped and turned to his commander.

"Sir," Onslaught said with a nod.

"How's our guest doing?"

"Running his mouth as usual, sir," Onslaught said with a bit of detest to the downed Con.

Silas shook his head and approached, hands held behind his back. "You mustn't anger him, Starscream. It's not good for your health."

The former second in command of the Decepticons, slumped against the wall, arms bound by reinforced restraints that locked him to the wall. When they had discovered the _Harbinger_ and all its treasures, they were surprised to discover it was the hideout for the former Decepticon. He tried to act high and mighty, boasting this and that with overly drawn speeches of grandeur, threatening to squash them beneath his heels. That was till Silas as Breakdown came forth and showed he was just a dangerous as the seeker himself. A fight ensued but Silas was a formally highly trained soldier with his own set of skills, and easily out bested Starscream with Breakdown's immense strength.

Starscream coughed, a bit of energon leaking from the corner of his mouth and left optic. "So I've noticed," he drawled, barely lifting his head at Silas/Breakdown. "I hope the information I gave you was helpful." He was being sarcastic of course.

"Very much so. And I hope there may be more you can enlighten us."

"I told you everything I know. To know more, you'd have to ask another Cybertronian, Decepticon or Autobot."

"That is true," Silas said, scratching his chin. "But then we wouldn't have any further use for you," smiled, seeing Starscream gawk at his remark. "I'm sure we could find some use of your body once your spark is removed."

"No! I… I could still be of use!"

Silas waved for Onslaught to follow. The hulking brute looked down at Starscream with a growl and then followed his leader. The doors slammed shut behind them as they passed. "Are we really going to remove his spark, sir? I doubt we have any volunteers who would willing take up his form. Maybe a women perhaps, considering his… shape?"

Silas gave a laugh at the notion. "True. But I think we have some use for him still. He's told us much of his view of Cybertron's history. Not to mention the Decepticon side of the war."

"What of the Enforcer we hired?"

Silas frowned. "We made a deal with him. And he came through with hardly a problem."

"But he was spotted in broad daylight."

"The ends justify the means. He still retrieved Jackson Darby and brought him to us. I upheld my end of the bargain by leaving him be." He paused to think. "But asking him for a history lesson from his point of view wouldn't hurt so much. I'll contact him later and arrange a meeting to get a report of his own history on the Transformer's home world."

The two rounded a corner, avoiding a small transport of materials that moved past to another section of the ship. "What's the word on the other half of the ship?" Silas asked.

"It'll be another week before it's completely uncovered from the forest. And maybe another after that to transport it here. From there, reattaching the two halves will take at most a few months if we continue at our current speed of repairs. But we have to take in the human element on board, sir. Shifts and rests between our men are required." He paused, looking down at said humans who worked diligently at their assigned tasks. But his enhanced vision and scans told him that many were showing rough signs of fatigue and exhaustion. "I hate to say it, but we perhaps showed ourselves as Cybertronians a bit too soon."

"Not necessarily," Silas commented. "They don't know where we are, only that we have a ground bridge at our disposal. And with our dampening shield active, they can't find us. Not to mention Starscream admitted he never reported the _Harbinger's_ location to Megatron. So if they do come looking for us, they'll find it very difficult to do so." He glanced to Onslaught. "What of the status of the other Protoform we found aside the other six?"

"Still working on the repairs, sir. Seemed Starscream was going to use it as a means for spare parts, but our arrival cut him short on the matter."

"How long till it is ready?"

"Parden, sir?"

"Though this body of Breakdown's is strong, I need something better. Something that could match even Megatron in strength."

"Then I propose we collect data on both factions leaders, sir. To build a proper form to match either, we will need to see the limits of their strength. Which means we will need to engage them on combat."

Silas shook his head. "Not the Autobots. But perhaps along side them for now. We've already made it clear we were 'aligning' ourselves in a way with the Autobots and against the Decepticons." He stopped, a small grin forming in his face. "I do believe we are in need of more energon, correct?"

Onslaught blinked behind his visor. "Sir?"

"Think it's about time we started showing our hand against Megatron and his Decepticons."

**To Be Continued…**

**So what do you think? Long enough? Needed to be longer? Got you intrigued about what is going on? A cookie to the one who can figured out the reference in this chapter's title.**

**As for what is going on, or how the Combaticons became what they are, will be explained in later chapters. I know that the Prime series ties into the games of War for Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron, and that the Combaticons were in the second game, but for me to do this, they weren't there. The did not exist till this fic. Maybe make it as the Constructocons. And no, there will be no combining into one massive badass. It was cool in G1 and some other series, but since they didn't do anything like that within the Prime series to start with, I'm not doing it in this fic here. Sorry if I upset anyone, but there will be no Bruticus. But for now let your speculations fly. Jack is on the back burner for now so he won't be seen for some time. Maybe by chapter 3. And I had to give Sierra a break. Everyone wants to make her out to be some high school whore. But lets face it, she wasn't really. She was just like any other popular school girl. Didn't mean she slept with everyone, so I wanted to give her a break in this fic. Let it show she had something of a nice side to her, if briefly considering she only played a small roll here. She may make more appearances in the future.**

**Who the 'Enforcer' was that took Jack is however an OC of my own, but he won't be focused on till later.**

**Now I'll explain Take-Off. Yes, I know the original Take-Off was male and wasn't part of the team. That was Blastoff. But the name to me didn't stick with the alt-mode I had in mind. I hear Blastoff, I think of a space shuttle. Takeoff, I think of a jet or plane. So I went with that. Plus I wanted a female on the team. Was going to be Vortex, but changed my mind.**

**Now I wanted to do something slightly different here compared to other fics of the Prime series. Everyone seems to do a pairing for Arcee and Jack right from the start of the first chapter. Not saying its possible, but to right then and there to have them confessing their love for one another kinda unsettles me, so I'm going for a different approach. Now I'm not knocking on those who do. It's your fic, you do as you please. I still end up reading them anyways to see how they go… not to mention some certain 'scenes' between the two characters. You guys know who you are. :D**

**Now for the voices of the 'Combaticons' I made some celebrity choices, much how in the first episodes Cliffjumper was voiced by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. And I am going to state that I HATED that they offed him in the first episode so they could obviously push a partnering between Arcee and Jack. Shit pissed me off. Not to mention having his voice played by the Rock was awesome. And Cliffjumper was one of my favorites from the G1 series, so to have him only in for a short time then offed really annoyed me.**

**Unnamed Decepticon = Sam Witwir**

**Scourge = David Boreanaz**

**Onslaught = Hugh Jackman**

**Vortex = Ken Watanabe**

**Take-Off = Angelina Jolie**

**Swindle = Steve Buscemi**

**Brawl = Nicholas Cage**

**Tell me what you think of the actors I chose.**

**Now why the Combaticons since it interferes with the timelines involving WFC/FOC? I wanted a group who seemed military-like to build a third faction. And I remembered the 'Decepticons' from RiD series some time back, and so I replicated that here. A third group outside the two standard that could possibly be friend or foe to either. And come on, a great way to bring back Scourge with a slight TP flare to him. I loved his look and wanted to bring him back not as Nemeses Prime. That story was done in that episode.**

**And yes, he portrayed himself as the leader of their group, but all for face value. Look at Breakdown. You really going to take him serious compared to Scourge or Onslaught if he approached and said he was the leader?**

**Anyway, reviews fuel and feed me to continue so please drop a few. I know there are possible grammar errors. I am aware of this. And if you've read my crossover 'When BioWeapons Collide', you'd know I don't really care. Not looking to win any fan fiction awards.**


	2. The Third Faction

**I do not own Transformers of any kind and any of their characters. The origin is different than that of WFC/FOC, but similarities remain. You'll get what I mean as it progresses.**

**Now this is my first Transformers fanfic. Just wanted to let everyone know that.**

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter 02: The Third Faction**

Vehicons. Disposable foot soldiers of the Decepticon army. One questions whether or not they hold a spark within themselves considering they have no form to differentiate one from the other. They all held the same colors, nearly spoke the same, and had the same bored look on their visors as they aimlessly moved about the energon mine, collecting the much needed energy source for their lord and master, Megatron. The only one or two that stood apart were the Vehicon Seeker Generals, who sported a white/gray color scheme that resembled their former leader, Starscream. Again they looked the same, but with wings. Very bland.

They mined, broke down, and converted all energon they come across into cubes for transport. They did this regularly without tiring. All till the time their flag ship, the _Nemesis_, came to collect. This gave the Decepticons an edge against their hated foe, the Autobots, for their supplies were low, but the Decepticons were well stocked. So from time to time the Autobots, whenever they discovered a vein of energon that happened to be tapped by the Deceptions, would initiate a prolonged fight that would inevitably cause the vein to be destroyed.

So it came as no surprise when the event horizon of a ground bridge appeared just in front of a energon mining operation. Vehicons paused, looking to the swirling vortex as it just sat there. A minute went by and shortly, a blue and white armored vehicle rolled out, stopping a few meters away before transforming into the familiar visage of Breakdown. Knowing the former Decepticon, the Vehicons went about their duties seeming to think he was there for a check on operations and to see if they were ready for the next pick up, not realizing that said Decepticon was thought to be dead some time back. He glanced around, smirking as they tended to ignore him and continue to work. Their mistake.

Shortly there after, six other vehicles drove or flew out of the vortex with it closing shut behind them. Again the Vehicons paused, watching Breakdown just simply stroll on towards the cave while the six newcomers transformed. The two fliers were in the air, hovering overhead and looking down at the group. The femme had a disturbing grin on her face that unnerved some of the Vehicons.

Many focused on what looked to be a black armored version of Optimus Prime. Confused they looked between themselves, shrugging at the unspoken question on what to do. They came through with Breakdown. Had to be on their side, right?

How wrong they were. Soon, they were all pelted with energon fire from the six new comers, having no time at all to retaliate. Their aim was good, making sure to hit each target without striking any of the energon.

Scourge pressed forward, one blaster switching to a blade. He ducked low to one side, bringing his blade up at an angle to bisect a Vehicon in two. With a spinning kick he launched one half into two others, both knocked to the ground. They attempted to get up but Take-Off was above, raining down blaster fire whilst laughing, commenting on how the job was too easy.

Vortex danced in the air against two Vehicon Seeker Generals, both trying hard to shoot down the 'Chopper-Bot' but not succeeding. Though Vortex didn't fire back, he did brandish two swords that were made up from the propellers of his alternate mode. Any shot they did make that looked like it would connect, he easily deflected before diving at the two, blades moving faster than they could 'blink'. After passing the two, he slowly sheathed the blades to his back with a click, and the two Vehicons fell apart in four pieces each.

Onslaught and Brawl were the bruisers of the group of course, going in fists swinging or hammers smashing. At time their cannons would drop over their shoulder to lay down heavy suppressive fire along with their arm mounted cannons, making both highly deadly at long range.

Swindle of course kept back a bit, actually taking cover to do his fighting unlike the rest of his team who simply jumped into the fight. The gun placement on his alternate mode was over his shoulder, giving him a third weapon to use. It would seem to auto target an enemy without him looking, mowing it down before it had a chance to attack. He was never much for close fighting anyway. Let the crazier ones do that for him.

**OOO**

And while the fight died down outside, Silas/Breakdown marched into the mine. Those inside had no idea what was going on, as Vortex blocked their radio signals so they couldn't contact one another. Again they ignored him as he passed, though some wondered why he was smiling so much. Entering the main chamber, he smiled in awe at the site of all the raw energon crystals that lined the walls in the hollowed mountain side which the Decepticons had made for their mining operation. It was beautiful in its own way.

"Breakdown, sir." A Vehicon to his left approached, giving a salute. "Sir, we weren't expecting you. Is there a problem?"

"A problem?" Silas/Breakdown asked with a grin, turning to the Vehicon who was much smaller than the body of the former Decepticon. "Oh, there isn't a problem at all." A single energon blast fired from the mouth of the cave and right through the Vehicon's head, taking it completely off its shoulders. The rest of the Combaticons rushed through, again taking careful aim to not strike the energon crystals. The Vehicons had poor aim, and relied heavily on their numbers to do any kind of damage. But that didn't slow down the Silas/Breakdown's Combaticons. They easily cut down the numbers, Vehicons dwindling down to there was nothing left but scrap.

Before long, there were none left, and Silas was happy with that. "Well done my soldiers," he congratulated. "Well done." He approached the cube generator they had on site. A large machine specifically designed to form energon crystals into a liquid state for a Cybertronian to consume, or inject depending on the circumstances. "This will come in handy."

Scourge was to the side, ordering Onslaught, Brawl and Swindle to cover the other caves and remove any Vehicons that came their way. Take-Off was to the side, examining a fresh cube before taking a sample taste. Vortex arched a brow behind his visor as he watched her shudder with a smile on her face. Must have been that good. He moved over to Scourge, looking the taller 'Con in the eyes. "Area is secure. I will call in a bridge so we can begin transportation of the energon."

Scourge gave a nod and watched Vortex march back outside the cave. He himself turned and moved towards Silas. Hearing a brief fire fight and Brawl's laughter at the easy fight, he turned back to their true commanding leader. "Sir, area is secure. Vortex is calling in teams to begin shipping energon back to the _Harbinger_."

"We'll be taking this as well," Silas said, hand running over the machine. "MECH stumbled upon a few mines some time back, so this machine will come in use back at the base." He looked down at the remains of several Vehicons. "And some of them as well. I'm sure we can put them to good use one way or another."

"Yes sir. I'll inform the men."

**OOO**

Outside, Vortex stood commanding the MECH soldiers as they exited the ground bridge. He began issuing his orders, pointing to the cubes and to the mine. Trucks hauling flatbeds and crane came through and immediately got to work. As Scourge came out, he too gave his orders about collecting the most intact piece of the Vehicons for study. He himself and Vortex assisted in this endeavor while the human part of their group got to work.

But none were aware they were being watched from high up above the mining cave. A distinctive, silent and emotionless Decepticon by the name of Soundwave stood like a statue, watching what was happening below. It was only a few minutes ago he had lost contact with the dig site at this particular vein of energon. Normally he would have sent another Vehicon to investigate, or someone liked Knock-Out or Dreadwing to see what was wrong. But Dreadwing was off with Lord Megatron, and Knock-Out was off doing whatever it was he did during his spare time. He was notorious for shutting off his comms while he went out for the thrill of illegal human street racing.

There was the possibility that if it was an attack on the site a stealthy investigation was required. And none other than himself was qualified for the job. Though one could never tell, he was a little surprised to find that the site was attacked, but not by Autobots like he had originally presumed. Instead he found six different Cybertronians he had never seen before accompanied by none other than Breakdown, who by all his knowledge was offlined some time back by Airachnid. Yet there he was, whole and repaired and walking into the cave when the battled ensued. Once the battle outside had ended, the six rushed in, and Soundwave could here the battle inside. He half expected the mountain to burst into blue fire due to some fool striking the energon inside, but nothing came of it.

And now he finds that this new group were working with humans. Looking at their uniforms and immediately searching through his memory banks he all but instantly made a match comparison and saw that they were MECH soldiers. But they arrived via a ground bridge. Where had they gained the technology or the knowledge to build one?

Upon closer examination he noticed their insignia. It highly resembled the face of the Prime-look-alike. A third group not affiliated with Autobot or Decepticon? Soundwave knew Megatron was not going to like this.

Instantly he tapped the image into the _Nemesis'_ databanks, which were connected to the humans poor information web, and stumbled across disturbing footage of the group he had watched just now, introducing themselves to the world at hand. They called themselves 'Combaticons' and were not affiliated with either faction of the ongoing civil war. They had proclaimed to be looking for asylum on earth, to get away from said war and wanted to live in peace. Obviously a lie considering they were attacking an Decepticon mine.

Other things came up, footage of the black Prime stating his designation as 'Scourge'. He also noticed the larger one called 'Onslaught' and the femme called 'Take-Off'. Searching through his data banks again, this time a little longer, he came up with no matches of any known Cybertronians by those names, or matches of their appearance. Even to the others who he marked as 'Unknown' till new information was gathered. He tapped into the data banks back on their ship, and still there was no match. A sample recording of Starscream's voice came through. _/Most intriguing./_

With a simple thought, a ground bridge opened behind him and he simply stepped through, quickly finding himself back on the command deck of the _Nemesis_. From there, he sent a message out to Megatron.

**OOO**

Vortex looked to the mountain side, his optics taking note of a ground bridge closing as his gaze fell upon it. He frowned behind his mask and looked to Scourge. "We may need to cut this short," he spoke, dropping the body of a Vehicon.

Scourge, hefting one who was mostly intact except for the hole going straight through it's spark chamber, turned to the flier. "What do you mean?"

"I think I saw a ground bridge. We'll need to cut this shorter than we would have liked."

Scourge gave a nod. "Inform… Breakdown," he said, catching himself before he almost said Silas. Could never be too sure, another Decepticon could be near by listening. "Let him know we're needing to pull out." He watched Vortex depart for the cave, running so as not to waste any more time. Scourge followed through with his orders and carried the body into the ground bridge. Upon his arrival he dropped the body onto a waiting trolley to be towed away to a lab in another part of the ship. With that one, it would make a total of five they had managed to offline with a single shot to the spark. "That will be the last one for now. Clear the area for the energon transports and for a cube converter to be brought through."

Scourge turned and moved back through the vortex, stepping aside as a flatbed stacked with energon was pulled through. When he arrived on the other side, another entered, followed by Onslaught and Brawl dragging two each behind them. Silas approached while Swindle, Vortex, and Take-Off were towing the cube converter. "Sir."

"Vortex filled me in," Silas spoke, taking a glance at the spot where Vortex had spotted the ground bridge. "Most likely a scout. Not surprising though. I knew they were going to send someone to check up on their operations here but I wasn't expecting it to be so soon." He nodded to Scourge. "You did fine work calling this off short. Can't be here when Megatron arrives with reinforcements. And we are not ready to face him just yet."

Scourge nodded and left Silas to enter the bridge so he may aid in dragging the cube converter. He moved behind the machine to push, adding his strength into moving the machine through the ground bridge. His assistance lessoned the strain on the other three, Take-Off making a comment about how strong he was. She blew a kiss in his direction. Swindle rolled his eyes at the gesture. Vortex didn't care.

Once back on the _Harbinger_, they took the converter to another part of the ship, one large enough to house it and the confiscated cubes. Of course when they were through, Take-Off helped herself to another helping, shivering with the fresh taste.

Scourge had left for the science lab, watching as Brawl moved and strapped down the offlined Vehicons to formerly empty berths, along side the single Protoform at the end. The MECH technicians immediately got to work to see about repairing the damage done to the bodies. His optics narrowed slightly. "New soldiers for a growing army," he whispered, staring into the lifeless visor of the Vehicons.

**OOO**

"And that's that," Fowler said to Team Prime, looking at the Autobots and their humans friends. "The agency is going to be meeting with the Combaticons in two days to discuss trade for asylum. Cybertronian tech for a place of their own."

"Not good," Ratchet said with s shake of his head. "Nothing good will come of this. Trading weapons for a home is never good. Human's potential for destruction is as bad as ours at the star of the war, and armed with anything Cybertronian can only end in tragedy."

"I agree," Optimus said, displeasure echoing from each word. "Humans armed with our technology beyond what we ourselves agreed upon will certainly lead to perhaps a new arms race between your race."

"I get what you're saying, Prime," Fowler said. "But its out of my hands. Yes, you've given some things to our people to possibly help in medical or agriculture that we manage to produce. Advancements in robots has sky rocketed in these past few months, in what would have taken us another twenty or thirty years." He sighed. "But in the end, the thing our government wants is a means to defend ourselves. Decepticons aren't the only enemy we face in this world. Other countries wishing to overpower us or terrorist groups gun for our borders almost on a daily bases."

"And if they get their hands on our technology?" Prime challenged, glaring down at Fowler.

"Again I agree with you, but I have no say in the matter. Another agent is handling."

"Then I wish to be there. To talk sense into my brothers and prevent them from making a mistake."

Fowler scratched his head, looking down at the floor. "They… thought you might request that. So I wasn't informed of the location. Just told of what was going down."

"So we're being kicked to the side, then?" Smokescreen asked, looking down at the agent. "They give your people the big guns, and now they're all buddy, buddy? What's next, they let them deal with the Decepticons as well?"

"Now hold on," Fowler pointed to the young bot. "We aren't going back on our deal with you. You still have a place here on Earth and your fight against the Decepticons. This just means you now have more back up. Weapons we'll be developing will aid in our defense against them, and aid you."

"But what if these weapons get turned on us?" Ratchet asked. "Again, if these weapons fall into the wrong hands, what happens to us? We become a large potential target for your so called enemies."

"We won't let that happen…"

"But you don't know that! Humans can no more predict the future than a Cybertronian. You're people are but children playing with fire!" And with that, Ratchet stormed from the room.

All eyes followed him till he rounded the corner.

Bulkhead stared down at the floor, then turned to Miko. Nothing was said, but she got the message. Picking her up Bulkhead marched from the room with her on his shoulder. Arcee left without a word as well with Smokescreen behind her. Bumblebee's door wings lowered slightly before turning to Raf. The bespectacled boy didn't look too happy about the situation himself, and simply let Bumblebee carry him on out and on towards home.

That left Fowler with Optimus. And the agent felt the weight of the Prime's stare. "This was not your war, Agent Fowler. Our agreement was that we would keep the humans out of it and handle it ourselves."

"Well unfortunately, these new guys just made it our war when they announced it was happening on our planet. People are already banging on the White House's front gate, demanding to know why they weren't told. Other world leaders are looking for answers as well, wanting to know why the US had an alien alliance while they didn't. And if there has been an exchange of weapons technology. These Combaticons just painted a big red target on our backs. We're considered a major threat now. More so than we were before." With that, Fowler turned and headed for the exit with nothing else to say.

Optimus watched him depart. What could be said? The human was right about the situation. This group of newcomers had made a grave mistake, and now perhaps the country that had invited their people to live on their soil would pay the price.

A communications signal from the consol behind him turned the Prime's attention away. Approaching, he saw it was from Wheeljack. Optimus' mind instantly shifted from the Combaticons to the idea Wheeljack had information on their missing human friend. Answering the call he said, "Wheeljack, report."

/_Got some news, boss bot,_/ Wheeljack informed. /_Though I'm afraid its not about Jack. Still nothing there I'm afraid. But I just got a ping with the Decepticons. Someone hit one of their energon mines and hit it bad. Took a whole shipment that was being prepped for Megatron to come and pick up_/

"Any idea as to who?" Though a small part of Optimus had a suspect, or suspects, in mind.

/_No sir. Soundwave kept it brief. Sure Megatron isn't too happy. May gun for us if they don't know who it was._/

Optimus pondered on the information for only a moment. "Return to base Wheeljack. Your ship may be in need of refueling. You too may need some rest. You've been gone from base for some time."

/_I can stay longer if need be Prime. I want to find Jack just as much as you do._/ With that, the signal was cut. Wheeljack would continue to monitor the Decepticons for any sign of Jack.

But again that left Optimus to wonder what he was going to do about the Combaticons and the other set of problems that followed.

**OOO**

Arcee had left the base and taken the long drive back to the Darby house hold. She remotely opened the garage and once inside, immediately closed it up. Once the door closed she transformed, huddling in her usual corner where placement mats had been set. She smiled, thinking of the day Jack had come home with them. He said he didn't feel right for her to be laying on the concrete when she was protecting him. And this was the closest thing he could come up with as a bed for her to rest on. Not that she needed one. But the gesture was nice. She sat on those very mats, knees drawn to her chest and arms wrapped around them as she silently thought of her human partner.

There was still no clue to his whereabouts. It had been so long, Fowler had actually put his name and face up on missing persons list around the country. And with each passing second that went by, was another second Arcee believed Jack wasn't coming back. And that made her shrink in on herself more.

The house door opening drew her thoughts away and she looked to see June standing at the frame, still clad in her bathrobe and looking worse for wear. She crossed her arms tightly, looking down at the floor as she bare feet shuffled. "Arcee…"

"June… I…"

"I'm sorry."

Arcee blinked. "What?"

"I'm sorry. For the way I've been treating you, Optimus… everyone."

Arcee began to move from her mats to the woman. "You have no reason to apologize. You have every right to be angry."

"But I have no right to direct my anger on you," she said, looking Arcee in the optics. "Even with Jack gone, you still come and make sure I'm safe. And I know you're out there searching for him. Or the one who took him. And I'm here, pointing fingers and blaming everyone who had no control over what was going on." She turned away, pacing a little into the garage. She briefly looked over her shoulder. "I can hazard a guess that there hasn't been any news yet?"

Arcee shook her head. "None. Wheeljack is still watching to see if the Cons have anything to do with it, but no such luck."

"Do you think…"

"No," Arcee interrupted, know what June was going to ask. It was a lie really, considering she had been thinking that a second ago, but she wasn't going to let June think that. Or maybe she was saying it so she would believe it herself. "Jacks done far too much to simply… well. I believe he's alive."

"Do I want to know what could be happening to him?" She turned and watched Arcee shake her head. That dreadful feeling began to return as her mind couldn't help but think of the possible, horrid things her son could be going through.

Arcee watched June turn and move back into the house without another word. Her shoulders sagged and she could nothing but turn and crawl back to her mats. When she got to sitting against the wall, she was surprised to see June return, blanket wrapped around her as she moved over to the Autobot and sat down, her back too against the wall. Arcee blinked down at the woman. "June…"

"I'm just tired of spending the night alone in the house," she answered. "And I'm sure we both could use the company. This is just as hard on you as it is to me."

**OOO**

The time had come. It was three days since the arrival of the Combaticons, and Agent Kay stood in the abandon airfield he had made as the meeting point with them. He and several armed security personnel stood waiting as the time drew near. He was neither bored nor anxious. It was agreement of terms and trade of goods. With a group of alien robots. Nothing entirely new that their agency hadn't dealt with before, obviously. If they proved sincere in their word, everything would go smoothly. If not, there were snipers armed anti-tank riffles position to take them out a moment's notice.

His men shuffled slightly around him, trying to get use to the heat of the sun that bore down on them. Though he felt it all himself, he ignored it. But the sudden gust from the ground bridge opening before him was welcomed. He showed no form of emotion as the familiar black visage of the Prime-look-alike came through, Vortex and Breakdown on either side. His dark armor made him seem even more of an intimidating factor when it was in contrast with the surrounding desert.

When the bridge disappeared, it was Scourge who spoke. "Agent Kay." The face shield was still in place, but he could just barely make out the little movement of his jaw as he spoke.

"Scourge," Kay replied. "Glad you could make it," he said looking to his watch. "And right on time."

"The decision of our asylum?" the Combaticon asked, getting right to the point.

"Is granted. As long as you keep your end of the bargain; weapons and armor for a home of your own."

Scourge nodded and turned to Breakdown, who stepped forward. Taking a knee, the blue and white mech presented a small USB drive to the agent. Kay didn't bother asking how they managed to handle such a small thing in their massive care, but it did bother him a little. "What can we expect from this?"

"Weapon specs," Breakdown answered. "We took the liberty to dumb down some of the more technical terms for humans, and brought the size down to what you could at least mount onto a vehicle. The rest is up to you. Also some armor designs that could aid in your protection. And a few more juicy treats you'll find enjoyable." A disturbing smirk spread across his face. Mostly to continue with the former Decepticon act.

Kay eyed the former Con. "I bet."

"Now, as for our supposed home on this world?" Scourge asked, keeping up the façade.

"Your standing on it."

The three looked around, seeing nothing but a few plane hangers and empty desert with a old, rested fence surrounding the area. Scourge turned and narrowed his eyes down at the agent. "Is this a joke? There's nothing here worth accommodating."

Kay couldn't help but smirk. The agent lifted his wrist to his mouth. "Open it up," he said.

Behind the three mechs a large hatch began to move, lifting into the air to reveal a hidden ramp way down under the ground. The sudden movement had startled the three mech, each brandishing a set a weapons for an attack. Kay arched a brow, seeing Vortex draw two swords from his back. Waiting long enough, Kay simply walked past the three and started down towards the ramp and into the underground bunker. Seeing the human casual stroll on down, the three sheathed or holstered their weapons and followed the agent down into the ground.

"What is this place?" Scourge asked, ducking slightly as the ceiling became slightly low for his height.

"Back during the days of the cold war, we had many facilities like this one set up as private staging grounds for soldiers, weapons, vehicles, you name it. Overtime though they got moth balled. Half of them incomplete. But they are off the maps and planes aren't aloud to fly over the regions for nearly thirty miles in each direction."

They soon found themselves in front of a massive vault like door with another agent at a consol. With a nod, Kay gave the man the go ahead and he quickly turned to unlock the gate. A loud buzzing sound echoed from the door and it soon slowly swung open. The room inside still wasn't high enough for them, but could see it stretched on for some distance with what looked to be older digging equipment and construction vehicles at the far end.

Scourge kneeled to get a better look. He eyed the stair cases to the side which lead to two other floors that were unfinished. "It looks a bit small," he grunted, glaring down at the agent who didn't seem to sweat under the gaze.

"It is, but we'll be getting this thing up to your specs as soon as possible," Kay remarked as he entered the incomplete room. "It'll take some time, but we treat our neighbors well. You have any suggestions you fill me in and I'll see that it gets done. Will it be your immediate group, or should we be expecting more of your kind arriving?"

"There may be more," Scourge answered, Breakdown passing him a look. "We had gotten a message from some lost friends from the exodus of our world. But when they arrive we are not sure."

Kay nodded, and looked back into the room. "I'll see about some extra rooms be added. What about your ship?" he asked as he turned back to the group of robot aliens.

"It'll remain hidden until it is needed," Vortex answered, his accent catching Kay's ears.

"Can't let the Decepticons know where it is. Our numbers are few in comparison," Breakdown answered.

"Yes, especially with you defecting to another team," Kay remarked, staring at the scar on the 'former' Con's face. He walked past the mechs, making his way to the surface. The trio of Combaticons followed closely behind, looking forward to being able to stand at full height once more. "We'll begin construction in the morning. I've got plenty of men and vehicles on their way to get to work and we'll be basing most of the design work that was used for the Autobot's base. Equipment and personal flare will be left to you, if that's ok."

"We'll take care of that and notify you of anything we may need," Scourge said.

Without a gesture, a ground bridge burst beside them, causing Kay to flinch slightly as he wasn't expecting it. "How will we keep in touch? I didn't exactly give you my number."

"I hacked your PDA," Vortex simply answered and entered the bridge before the agent could argue.

Breakdown simply grinned and followed the flyer, while Scourge stood before the human. "Again, we will contact you should we need anything else. Good day, Agent Kay." With that farewell, Scourge entered the bridge and just a short while later, was the bridge room aboard the _Harbinger. _Looking around he saw the room was still under repair, but looking better than it was when they had found it. Most of the dirt and grime was gone, replaced with new layers of paneling. New lights illuminated the room in a better shade than the standard Decepticon purple.

Looking to the side, he saw a not so pleased Silas/Breakdown who seemed to glare at him. "What was that about us possibly having a message from old friends?"

"The Vehicons we captured. I thought we were going to use them for the next set of soldiers, sir," Scourge admitted, slightly perplexed that wasn't the case. "I thought it would look suspicious if we all of a sudden had more on our team than they realized."

"Not all of them. One or two yes but they could have easily been said to have been on the ship this entire time while we've been facing the masses and the government." Silas ran a hand down his face as he paced. "Its not a complete mess up though. We can salvage this. Maybe one can be repurposed and two could be used as our 'old friends' from the exodus that Starscream mentioned. But they're still under repair so it'll take some time."

Scourge nodded, head dipped slightly. "I apologize for my lack of judgment, sir. It won't happen again."

Silas gave a smile and approached the larger bot, hand patting his armored shoulder. "Don't worry about. What's done is done. This will at least give us an excuse to push the repairs on one a little further." He turned and began to march out of the room, heading towards the communications center. "Come along Scourge. The next step in our plans will begin soon."

Scourge began to follow, again making sure to step lightly around the humans that surrounded them. It was a small trip through the remains of the ship but eventually they reached their destination. Scourge was little surprised to find Swindle at the helm of controls, looking to be speaking with someone on the other end. Approaching, he could hear the former arms dealer discussing something about weapons trade. Narrowing his red optics, Scourge moved to remove Swindle from his seat and most likely through a wall, till Silas held and arm up to stop him.

"Now, now, Scourge. Swindle is simply doing as ordered."

"Sir?"

"Swindle, before he became Swindle, was an arms dealer. Of course things went bad and I eventually enlisted him into our little group, but he still has some use via his old contacts. Part of my plan is using these contacts."

"But he's talking about arms trade with alien tech. OUR alien tech," Scourge argued.

"Exactly. The world knows aliens and their technology exist on their world, and so everyone is going to be paying handsomely for just a taste. Of course our new landlords get first dibs, but they're technically getting it for free. We need supplies, technicians, and soldiers. And not one of them are free."

"So we sell specs for cash to buy supplies and men for our cause."

"And to pay the ones under us now. Some or loyalists to our cause. Some believe they may gain bodies like ours. And of course there are the ones who do it solely for the money."

Swindle ended his communication with whoever it was on the other line, and spun in his seat. "Got the fifth one today, boss," he cheered, standing up after the third spin. "And they are willing to pay BIG!"

Scourge growled at Swindle, still not liking the idea. "And how did you tell them you would be getting the tech from the 'alien robots', Swindle?" He looked to Silas. "Sir, this is a bit too soon. Its only been three days and just made a trade with America. If other countries start getting their hands on alien weapons, it'll look bad on us."

"Hey, hey, relax!" Swindle said, stepping up to the two. "I've got this. I didn't tell them I HAD the goods, but I could get them. Just a little time. They're not paying up just yet but the prices they're giving are great. I'd say at least a few weeks before they start blowing up our communications with questions as to how its going on our end."

"Good work Swindle," Silas said. "We'll leave it that for now. Once they have their goods, others will come crawling and willing to pay at a much larger sum."

Silas began to leave the room, Swindle beside him as they discussed their future in the trade and what it instilled for MECH and the Combaticons. Not everything of course.

Scourge was left watching them, fuming. It was too risky and to early for his liking. Many things could go wrong. Their new 'home' was hardly started on. Not that they really needed it. Once the ship was complete, that would be all they needed. The bunker presented to them was just something to use if necessary.

He marched from the room, his mind drifting. He didn't pay much attention to where he was going, but again was mindful of where he stepped. From time to time, he was asked to help hold something in place while the humans work force secured it in place. Usually a large piece of shielding to put inside a wall. Or a wall itself. It wasn't long though he found himself in the brig, eyes focused on the back room that leads to Starscream's cell. He didn't know why but he couldn't help but go and check on their prisoner.

The former Decepticon commander flinched and scurried against the wall when Scourge entered. It was almost sad. As he entered fully, he noticed the untouched energon cube sitting to the side just out of Starscream's reach. Taking another glance at the Decepticon, he took the cube and slowly approached. He held it out, and the Con just stared. "Take it," Scourge said, gesturing to the cube with a nod.

Starscream eyed him for only a few seconds before shaky, thin fingers reached for the cube. Seeing that the Prime twin didn't snatch out from his reach, Starscream carefully took the cube up from Scourge's hand and began to drink. The dullness of his optics brightened at the fresh taste and soon the cube was empty, damn near licked dry. With a sigh the seeker fell against the wall, content that his systems had a brief replenishment of energy.

Scourge hunched down, arms resting on his bent knees as he looked at Starscream. "Better?" he asked.

"Much," Starscream answered, then remembered who he was talking to. He narrowed his eyes at Scourge, slowly setting the cube aside. "Why give it to me? The other two brutes seemed to enjoy teasing me with it."

"I'm not like them," he said, and stood up. "Plus you're no good to us dead. You may still have information we could use. History for example."

"You wish to know about our history," Starscream stated more than questioned. "Beyond our war."

"Correct."

"Which tells me you either came online other than Cybertron, or you're not Cybertronian at all."

"Either or, it doesn't change a thing." The door opening behind him took his attention from the seeker to see Brawl step through, pausing as he saw Scourge in the cell. "What is it?"

Brawl looked down at Starscream, who shrunk away slightly from his stare, and then to Scourge. "Just stopping by to play 'kick the con'," he said with a slight southern chuckle. "Though I see you gave him the energon we left in here," his hand gesturing the empty cube.

"Another time. When we need answers."

"What's the fun of having a prisoner if we can't beat him down a notch or two. Besides, he's just a Deception." He laughed. "Hell, not even that anymore." He took a step forward, but a hand on his chest stopped him. He looked at the black armored hand and followed to Scourge, who glared at him.

"Enough. Go find something more important to do."

Brawl narrowed his eyes. "Or wh…"

It was kind of funny, seeing someone as large and imposing as Brawl get thrown out the cell door, body smashing into another open cell with an impression of his back in the metal. Shaking the birds that circled his head away, he looked up in time to see Scourge activate the cell, barring the tank Combaticon from leaving. With a growl he charged the energy field, thinking his brute force would allow him to breach. Again it was funny seeing his size just shake and crumble upon hitting the field, lying on the floor twitching in a bit of pain.

Scourge just stared down at him, pitifully. "Just lay there for a minute and cool your circuits."

**OOO**

Megatron, supreme ruler of all Decepticons. The former gladiator hardly had an equal that could match any and every aspect of his being. Aside from perhaps Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader is the only being to ever match him in combat, skill, and tactics. Not even his predecessor, Zeta Prime, could boast that.

Currently the user of Dark Energon stood in the command deck of the _Nemesis_ watching the recorded footage of these 'Combaticons' that Soundwave had witnessed attacking on of his energon mines. Beside it was the live feed from some Earth days ago when this new group made themselves known. That was how he learned of their name, their insignia. A faction outside the two known groups of their never ending war. One that had dared to steal from him.

He watched the humans exit the ground bridge, and frown even deeper as he watched them aid in stealing his energon supply. MECH was what they were called. A group of humans who used stolen and advanced technology for whatever feeble human goal they had planned. For so long they had been trying to duplicate Cybertronian technology. Now it would seem they had found allies to give them said tech, or they were made by MECH themselves and were simply posing as one of their own.

"Were you able to fix the source of their ground bridge?" Megatron asked his super spy. He watched him silently shake his head, just once, and that was all Megatron needed. He growled and turned away from the screen. "This group of human filth think they are smart. Already they've proven how foolish they are for taking this act against me." He slowly strode out from the command room with Soundwave trailing behind. He turned down the hall where Knock-Out had been standing, arms crossed and seemingly lost in thought. Megatron was no fool and could see the ship's resident doctor was a little put off at seeing the resurrected Breakdown. "Your thoughts, doctor?"

"Afraid I'm a little stumped on the matter, my-lord," Knock-Out admitted. "But his actions didn't strike me much as the same Breakdown we are familiar with." He eyed the Decepticon leader. "I'd have to get up close to know more." There was an underlying hint in his voice. One not used by the doctor so much. Breakdown and he were close. Friends as it wore. Not something you would normally see within the ranks of Decepticons, but they were there. And finding that someone had tampered with his 'friend's' corpse didn't set well too much with him.

"You may get your chance. Fools like them think they're invincible after performing such an act against a superior foe and will try again." He looked over his shoulder at the ever silent Soundwave. "I want a high alert placed on all our mining locations. If anything is amiss I want to be informed immediately." He turned away and continued on towards his throne room. "I will greet these upstarts personally, to let them know the error they have made in making me an enemy."

**OOO**

"I got a lead!" Raf shouted from his little perch where the human charges usually sat at. The only occupants in the room at the time was Ratchet, Miko, Bulkhead, Arcee, and himself. Bumblebee, Optimus, and Smokescreen were out on patrol, the Autobot leader once more taking his time to see ensure that June was safe, though she was now returning to work since she no longer had any vacation days to use up.

Miko jumped over and sat next to the boy genius, with the group of Autobots standing behind them to get a look at the screen. "I ran my usual match program that I use in case anyone ever spots bumblebee."

"Though you probably don't have to do that anymore now that the world knows he exists," Miko noted.

Raf sighed. "True. But I used it match anything that could tie to any of the images Fowler saved on the unknown Con that took Jack. It took some time, but I've got one match. And it's a video on YouTube."

"What's YouTube?" Ratchet asked.

"It's an awesome site where people post videos running from educational to stupid," Miko answered simply. She turned back to the screen. "So what kind of video? One of those that usually about alien sightings or something?"

Raf blushed slightly, seeing the poster image for the film. "Not exactly."

Pressing play, they watched the film begin, and there it was. The same vehicle that had changed into the Decepticon. An unfamiliar song began to play, the camera shifting from one angle to another till a set of bare, feminine legs came out into view. Raf's cheeks began to heat up even further as the camera began to pan up, showing she was in nothing but a two piece bathing suit, hand gripping a soaked sponge. She had slight Asian feature to her much like Miko, but also revealed some English lineage. Her hair was long, stopping just past her shoulder and as dark as the color of the Decepticon sitting in his alternate mode beside her.

From there, was a slow video of her washing the 'car' beside her, the speed depending on the tempo of the music. It wasn't long before Raf found his eyes covered by Miko, with her commenting he was too young to be watching that. Bulkhead however commented that HE might be too young for watching it. Arcee just stared, mouth agape with an arched brow. Ratchet sputtered, once more unable to sat anything.

But Miko was quick to pause the video as it landed at a good angle of the Con's hood, granted it showed a good portion of the woman's body stretched across it, nearly naked chest pressing against it while she too was soaking wet. "That's our Con," she said, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly. There on the shaker, the car shaker not the woman's, was the Decepticon insignia.

Shaking her head, Arcee looked to the group. "We've got to tell Prime we've found him."

Clearing his throat and making sure to look from screen, Ratchet nodded ."Yes. I'll inform him we have a lead on the kidnapper."

"But I don't get it," Bulkhead started, making sure to avert his eyes slightly. "If he's the one who took Jack, then what is he doing in a video like THAT? Doesn't exactly scream your typical Con activity. Well, maybe Knock-Out. But he'd have to be REALLY dirty and desperate."

"Any chance you can run a trace as to where that video was done?" Arcee asked Raf.

"Y… yea. I can. Sorta," he answered, and looked down in the comment section. It wasn't hard. Miko could do it actually. A link or two later, they were at the main page of the owner of the video, which then led to a Facebook page. It was the same young woman that was washing the 'car'. "Got her. Naomi Wells. She lives in a suburban neighborhood down in… Miami, Florida." He paused, looking at glimpses of her other videos. "She's got more. And from what I see, the Con is in each one!"

Sure enough, watching 'highlights' of other videos showed the same car, the woman in a different bikini but performing the same act of washing down her 'ride'.

"Man I want to be him."

Everyone jumped and looked back to see Smokescreen had arrived, very silently. He was staring intently at the screen.

"When did you get here?" Arcee asked.

"About two vids back," he answered. "So this is the girlImeanCon that took Jack?" Was a smooth save there.

Arcee nodded, glaring at the young bot then at the screen. She was instantly reminded of the staring contest they had just before he took Jack through the ground bridge. "That's him."

**OOO**

Shortly there after, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and even Agent Fowler arrived to set the next step in motion on dealing with the Decepticon. Wheeljack had arrived a bit earlier, and was hanging back. Fowler had watched the video, quiet for a long time before stepping back and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "All of a sudden I feel really… old." He turned back to Team Prime, especially Raf. "Good work there kid."

Raf blushed slightly at the praise. "Thanks."

"So what's our next step," Smokescreen asked. "We swoop in and get him when he least expects it?"

"Not that easy son," Fowler said, raising a hand to calm the anxious bot. "They're in a suburban neighborhood. A lot of people in the area. Can't have you going in and starting a fight while there may be kids playing ball right next door."

"I agree," Prime spoke. "We must tread lightly on this situation so as not to put any innocent people in harms way." Bumblebee beeped a few times to the Prime, who nodded in agreement. "Yes, the young woman in the video must be kept safe as well. It is obvious she does not know who it is impersonating as her own vehicle." He looked over to the agent. "Is there anyway to lure other civilians from the area to a safer location which would allow us to confront the Decepticon?"

Fowler thought for a second. It was a tricky, but there was certain ways to do it. But the problem was making sure the Decepticon didn't know. And they couldn't risk the girl knowing anything was up either, otherwise she would leave in the Decepticon posing as he means of transportation. "It's tricky, but I may a have plan," he said, looking up to Prime. "But I'll need some time to get it ready. You guys as well. Need a team in on this ready to strike in case he notices something is up."

Miko beemed, her pigtails bouncing in anticipation. "Sweet, sunny Miami, here we come!" she whooped, fist thrust into the air.

"Now, now Miko," Bulkhead started. "I think you're going to have to sit this one out. This guy is an unknown. No telling what he may do."

"But Bulkhead…"

"He is right, Miko," Prime said, gaining the young human's attention. "If he is familiar with Jack, he will most likely notice you and make you a target against us."

When Raf saw Miko look a little confused, he clarified. "What he means is, they don't want to risk the Con catching you and using you to slow them down."

"Like he can catch me."

"If you guys like, I'll stay behind and keep an eye on her," Wheeljack said, stepping up close to the humans. "This is a more personal thing for you guys. I like Jack, good kid, but you guys have known him longer. I'll sit around with Ratchet and keep the place safe while you bust the Con down a peg or two."

Unbeknownst to the group, he looked to Miko and gave her a wink. Catching on to the wrecker, Miko giggled. But quickly straightened up and 'fumed' that she was going to be left behind. "Fine," she said, looking away, arms crossed. She averted her eyes from Raf when he looked at her suspiciously.

"So who's going to catch the Con?" Fowler asked.

"Myself, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Arcee," Optimus answered. "Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Smokescreen will remain here in case there is an emergency or otherwise."

"Like discovering another Iacon Relic," Ratchet added.

Optimus nodded to the old medic. "Exactly."

Fowler nodded, and begun digging into his pocket. "Good then. I'll start making some calls and get things prepped. We should be ready to go in two days, tops."

"That quick?" Arcee asked.

"You're not the only one who misses the kid," Fowler said as he raised his phone to his ear. "I've had things prepped and ready to move in just an occasion. Plus, he's the only one to keep Miko in check. Save's me a little of my hair color. Not to mention his mother needs him just as the rest of us do."

Arcee nodded, reflecting back to June. She was back to work, but it didn't do anything to change her mood. She and Arcee had spent more time together, talking mostly. June had actually brought out old baby photos of Jack and Arcee couldn't help but admit he looked so cute. It was strange seeing something so small and… well, bland looking, turn into, and she quoted June, 'a handsome young man'. Not that Arcee didn't agree or anything.

She blinked. _Where'd that come from?_ she thought.

**To Be Continued…**

**Chapter 02 is done. Not as long as the first but close. But then again, I think I simply filled a page worth of author comments at the end so maybe that shouldn't count. I feel I could have done more with the fighting at the beginning, but I simply wanted to play out the story a bit more. I love leaving people guessing.**

**And the world is mad that alien exist on their soil. Who didn't see that coming? Think about it. What country is going to be cool with the idea that another country has aliens living right next door, and weren't informed of it?**

**So now we're entering my OC. He'll become vocal in the next chapter. Expect possible surprises.**

**You're thoughts on Scourge and the rest of the Combaticons. Remember, reviews are fuel for me.**


	3. You Can't Handle the Truth

**I do not own Transformers of any kind and any of their characters. The origin is different than that of WFC/FOC, but similarities remain. You'll get what I mean as it progresses.**

**Now this is my first Transformers fanfic. Just wanted to let everyone know that.**

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter 03: You Can't Handle the Truth**

The sun was beginning to rise in Miami. Another hot day of fun in the sun was about to come to one Naomi Wells. She stretched a little as she sat up in her bed, looking to see it was just past eight. She had been up a little later than she wanted from editing her latest video. Just a small hobby that got her a LOT of views on YouTube. She giggled thinking back on some of the comments made her way. So many men, and few women, making such lewd comments and suggestions. Typical human nature to her.

Climbing out of bed and greeting the morning sun, she gave another stretch, stepping up to the tips of her toes. It was Saturday, and that meant no work, no big responsibilities, and most importantly of all, fun. Had to have it while still young.

Moving to the kitchen, she started a cup of coffee. Not a lot but just enough for her. While it was brewing, she made for the bathroom to begin her shower. Twenty minutes rolling by with a hum of a song who's title she couldn't remember, she was out and ready to get dressed.

Sometime later with her hair in an easy ponytail, she stepped into the kitchen in a simple tank top and shorts. Always hot in Miami. Any more clothes on and she'd burn up. A little cream and sugar in her coffee and she was good. But what to plan for? She could call a friend or two see if they had anything planned for the day. Never liked going to the beach alone. Driving around town was only fun at night, so that was out. As much as she'd like to go to the mall, she couldn't afford to spend any cash with rent just around the corner. "What to do, what to do," she said to herself, without a hint of an accent to her Japanese heritage to it.

Taking a slow walk to the garage door, she entered the private sanctum of her car. The brilliant black pearl paint job sparkled just a little from what ray of sunshine that came in through the garage door. Tapping the door's button, she marched toward it was it rose up and reveal that pristine and proper neighborhood one would usually see in movies.

Stepping outside, her bare feet met cool concrete that hadn't been touched yet by the sun. She bit her lip with a smile at the sensation. She moved to go pick up the morning paper, but to her confusion, it wasn't there. The paper was usually dropped at an earlier hour so it should have been there. Looking to her neighbor's yards, there was no sign of any paper in their yards either. Even if someone had gotten the paper early, surely someone would have waited till later and still would have theirs lying in the yard.

Deciding to let it go, thinking that there just may have been a delay in the paper route, she turned to go back in through the garage when she spotted something that stood out amongst the normal routine. About seven houses down, parked by the curve was a car she had never seen before in front of the Sinclair's house. She only new them cause their eldest son kept trying to hit on her. Seventeen with hormones running wild, thinking he had a chance with her. Maybe if she was his age, but being twenty-six she had higher standards than being picked up by a kid driving mom's Nissan.

"Maybe they sprung and got it for him," she whispered to herself, admiring the goldish-yellow paint job with black racing stripes. Not your normal color for a Camaro. And it looked to have some serious body work done to it. "He's a good kid but not enough to spend that kind of cash on for a car." Had to have set them back.

Turning away, she spotted something else that wasn't the norm for her Saturday morning routine. Her neighbor, Mrs. Beasley wasn't out with her dog. By now she would have made her second lap around the neighborhood with her pet Lab, Biscuit. Maybe she was already on her third one.

Movement to the left just across the street got her attention. Looking sharply, she briefly caught a glimpse of something black around the house's back corner. Another glimpse of movement on the other side. Naomi stepped back, suddenly feeling uneasy about the situation. She bit her lip, taking another step back as she saw what looked to be armed men, moving about behind the houses across the street, all decked out in what she could only describe as riot gear.

The familiar sound of a motorcycle engine revving turned her attention down at the other end, and she saw a blue bike she'd never seen before, parking in the middle of the road. The rider was female, garbed completely in black leather and helmet. What was funny was she sat in the middle of the road, with no kick stand or her legs out to prop the bike up. Mad balancing skills one would think.

"Ah slag," a voice from behind her said.

Turning sharply at the sound of her car's engine cutting on, she watched as it sped out of the garage minus a driver. It whipped out, going in the complete opposite direction of the bike, which spun its back wheel as it decided to give chase. The Camaro ahead came to life as well, headlights flashing on as men in black uniform came rushing out from behind almost every house around her.

The black Charger charged forward, Bumblebee moving to intercept with Arcee closing in fast. Bumblebee veered to the left sharply, transforming in a roll in order to tackle the Decepticon. It did the same, but came in sharp with his shoulder ready and driving it dead center into Bumblebee's chest. The con flipped Bee over into Arcee's direction, and immediately transformed back to in order to get away. As soon as Bee hit the ground, Arcee leapt over, changing to robot mode in order to dive over Bee, and then back into bike mode as she landed, not even bothering to strike up her hologram for appearances.

Naomi watched, jaw dropped as her car sped around the corner, blue bike sans driver giving chase while the yellow robot transformed back into a tricked out Camaro and continued to chase as well. Black vehicles came down the opposite end where the bike had come from, and the armed men quickly climbed some staying behind and closing in on her. Her coffee was dropped long time ago and she turned to go to her house, when she bumped into a suited, big bellied man, who placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Ma'am, we're going to have to ask you to remain calm," he said, and flashed a badge she was not familiar with. Not that she had seen many badges in her life mind you.

"Why are you chasing him!?" she asked, a bit of worry in her voice.

Fowler was about to answer, but paused as he registered what she had just asked him. "What do you mean, 'him'?"

**OOO**

Arcee wasn't about to let him go. He was fast, but she was just as fast, and just as maneuverable. He had slipped past Bee surprisingly well, but she wasn't going to be. "He's coming your way, Bulkhead," she said over the comm, eyes locked on the bumper and license plate which read 'N4CER'. She scoffed.

/_Read ya loud and clear Arcee,_/ he replied.

The hulking green armored vehicle burst through a wooden fence and blocked the road, Bulkhead taking on his robot form to catch the Con. There was no tackling through Bulkhead; he had the weight advantage. "Come on Deceptipunk," he said, fist slamming into open palm.

The Charger changed again as it braked and turned sharply. The minute his feet hit the ground, the Con leapt up and over Bulkhead, who reached up to catch him but the Con dropped something on top of his head, and Bulkhead instantly froze up in the pose of his reach. He was surrounded in a blue field that kept him locked, but he could still clearly see and move his eyes around. He was visibly surprised.

Arcee gasped, recognizing the technology. "That's a portable stasis field." She performed a similar move, leaping high and grabbing the generator from Bulkhead's head. The big bot dropped his arms and shook his head. "Haven't seen one of these in a long time," she said, looking back to see the Con look at them, and then run again while changing back into a car. Arcee placed two fingers to the side of her helm as she called in, Bumblebee flying past to give chase. Bulkhead followed suit. "Prime, be careful. This guy is packing some tricks. He just used a portable stasis field generator on Bulkhead. He's free and giving chase now." She 'pocketed' the generator and transformed to follow in the chase.

**OOO**

Optimus Prime slowed to a stop, his form quickly shifting to his bipedal mode. The minute he was at his full height, his face shield slammed shut. He watched the Decepticon whip around the corner, speeding his way till it slammed on the brakes to come to a complete stop in the in the road. "Decepticon, stand down!" Optimus ordered, right hand shifting to a blaster. "Resistance is futile."

The Decepticon shifted, legs folding from the rear and arms from the sides. The hood and front of the car flipped down and inward as he climbed to his feet, head flipping up. Green optics glared at the Prime, face shield sliding back to reveal an equal scowl on his face. Hearing the others fast approaching from behind the Con looked back over his shoulder that was partly made of one of the front tires of his vehicle mode.

Bumblebee rushed in once more, transforming to subdue the Con, but he wasn't about to have it. He whipped around, grabbing the outstretched arm of the young Autobot and spun him around, face first into the concrete in an arm lock. It was short lived as Arcee was soon upon him, blades extended. He surprisingly kicked Bee out of harms way, brandishing a blade of his own to block Arcee's rapid melee attacks. Bee was back on his feet and ready to join the melee when Arcee leapt back and the Con took the full force of Bulkhead's vehicle form.

The Decepticon grunted as he held onto the front of Bulkhead. His hand shifted from blade to blaster and fired, blowing out two of Bulkhead's tires, which he cursed in pain from the shot. The two rolled over, Bulkhead shifting and lying on his side as he cradled his wound. The Decepticon rolled to a knee, ready to fight till he felt the barrel of anther blaster pressed against his helm. He squeezed his eyes shut in a snarl and silently cursed as he slowly turned his head and looked up at Optimus, none too pleased at the situation.

Looking down the Con cursed," Slag, slag, slag!" Blaster shifting back into his hand, the Con slowly raised his hands in the air in defeat. Armored black vehicles came in and surrounded the area. Armed men and women poured out and surrounded the Con, all weapons aimed at his head and chest. He glanced around and then back up to Prime. "A bit much for one former Decepticon, don't you think?" he asked bitterly.

Optimus narrowed his eyes. "Former?"

"Interceptor!"

Prime and the Con snapped around, seeing Naomi being brought out, gently, by two suited men from the back of an unmarked car. She moved forward, but the men held her back, prompting the Con to move, but stopped as Prime pressed the blaster harder to his helm. "Naomi!" He looked around then to Prime. "Let her go. She has nothing to do with this!"

Arcee's jaw dropped as she looked to the woman and then to the Decepticon, 'Interceptor'. "She knew he was a Cybertronian?" Bumblebee beeped, questioning how she knew his designation.

Fowler escorted the woman forward. She glanced up at the bots as she passed, then to Bulkhead as he slowly climbed to his feet, still rubbing the spot he had been shot. Once past the armed men, she broke free of Fowler and rushed forward. Everyone warned her to stay back but she ignored them and rushed to the Decepticon, who's arms dropped to his sides.

Prime, stepped back, blaster lowered as he watched the Decepticon take the woman in the crook of his arm, and lifted her up. "Stand down," he ordered.

Everyone stared in surprised as the Decepticon didn't act out or fight. He simply kneeled there, Naomi in his arm as she kept close to him as if looking for safety.

Arcee marched forward, a scowl present over her features. "Can someone explain this to me?"

"You okay, Interceptor?" Naomi asked, making sure not to look at the angry femme but to the Decepticon.

"I'm fine. Hardly a scratch," he lied, still feeling sore from Bulkhead's head-on collision. He slowly stood up, head just coming to Prime's shoulders.

"Oh, you'll have more than a scratch when I'm done with you," Arcee snapped, stepping closer. "Where's Jack!?"

Interceptor stepped back, turning Naomi away from Arcee to shield her should the female bot do something reckless. "Back off," he warned.

"Enough," Prime ordered, the two looking to him. "Let the girl go."

"She's in no danger with me," the 'former'-Con said, glancing at Prime and then back to Arcee. "Tell her to cool her engines."

"I'm about two Earth seconds from putting my foot up his…"

"Arcee."

She looked to Optimus and saw the frown on his face. She went silent and backed off, but continued to glare at Interceptor. He returned the glare, but broke it off to look at Optimus. "I'll tell you anything you want to know, but you have to do something for me."

Arcee snapped. "You are in no position…"

But Prime raised his hand, not threatening mind you, but to signal for her to stop. She quickly complied but continued to glare. "Depending on what it is you ask."

A second passed before he looked to Naomi. "You have to promise to keep her someplace safe. Someplace where she can't be found easily."

"That can be arranged," Fowler said, getting Interceptor's attention. "I can have a safe…"

"No!" Interceptor snapped, getting several armed men to refocus their aim on him despite Naomi in his arms. He looked back to Optimus. "No place where humans can find her. No place that can be found by humans."

"Who should she be afraid of that requires her hidden from her own kind?"

"The ones who hired me to take that kid, Jack," he answered, prompting a gasp from Naomi.

"What did you do, Innie?" she whispered

"So it wasn't Megatron?" Bulkhead asked, limping over to the group.

Interceptor snorted in slight disgust. "I haven't seen him since the exodus of our home. Left me and several others for scrap when he went chasing after you, Prime."

Optimus was silent in thought, before placing a digit to his helm. "Optimus to base. I need a ground bridge my location." He eyed Interceptor. "I'm bringing in a prisoner."

**OOO**

High above where no one could see, the _Jackhammer_ circled the area. Recording the entire act, Wheeljack and Miko watched on his monitor the swirl of the ground bridge. The Decepticon was ushered through with Prime aiming a blaster at him, Arcee following beside him. Bumblebee assisted Bulkhead through, the big green wrecker limping slightly but still looking no worse for wear. Didn't stop the little Japanese girl from worrying about her big green friend. Wheeljack smiled and patted her gently on the back, getting a look from her. "Don't sweat it, kid. Bulkhead has taken much worse."

"I know, it just surprised me is all," she said, looking back at the monitor. She knew a fight was going to happen, and had been eager to see Bulkhead get to pounding a Con into scrap, but she was surprised that one Con got past all three of them before making a mistake and rolling right up to Prime with a blaster out and at the ready. "I've never seen a Con move like that before. Tried more to escape than fight."

Wheeljack agreed on that. He hadn't seen moves like that except before the Decepticon uprising. And a portable stasis field generator? Meant to capture not kill. Only a select few use those till this day. He glanced down at the girl as he took the grips in both hands. "Let's start heading back. Maybe when we get back, Bulkhead will be right as rain, as you humans say."

**OOO**

Naomi was let down gently onto the concrete flooring, as Interceptor was instructed to deactivate his weapons and keep his hands behind him while they applied the stasis cuffs the Autobots kept on hand in case of capturing a prisoner. She stepped back, seeing two other large robots to the side, a red and white one with a slightly grouchy look on his face, and another who seemed a bit more youthful… and for some reason was avoiding eye contact with her. Bizarre.

The large one that was called Optimus looked to the white one. "Ratchet, where is Wheeljack?"

Ratchet turned to his leader, glancing around the room before looking to Optimus. "Haven't a clue really. They were shouting and whooping as usual till they took off in his ship. I'm sure she's fine so long as he doesn't go looking for trouble… but just to be sure I'll contact them real quick." He turned sharp and began typing away at the consol behind him.

Naomi felt eyes boring down on her, and looked UP to lock eyes with Optimus. "Yes?" she squeaked. She didn't mean for it come out like that, but Interceptor was the only one of their kind she had ever met, and she didn't need to look up this high in order to face him. Prime was very intimidating upon first meetings.

One could imagine her reaction to Megatron.

"Do you require anything, Ms. Wells?" His voice reminded her of her grandfather when she was a kid. Strong, but full of care in his tone.

She bit her lip, shifting slightly on her bare feet. "Not really. Just a place to sit would be fine, please," she added as an afterthought, feeling that being polite to the large robot who was bigger than Interceptor was a good idea. "Floors kinda cold and I'd like to get off my feet."

Prime nodded, and turned slightly, revealing a human sized stair case leading to a platform. She could barely make out a TV up top. At least she won't be bored. "You may have a seat in the lounge area where our human guests tend to reside." He turned back to the medic. "I'll need your assistance with the prisoner, Ratchet."

"Right away Prime," he said turning from the consol and following the larger Bot. "I know my communications are coming through but I think Wheeljack is blatantly ignoring me. The nerve of that…" his voice trailed off as he rounded the corner and disappeared from view, just leaving Naomi with the younger looking Bot.

Stepping up the steps daintily, she began to make out a couch and coffee table with game consoles, and trash one would find in a boys room when mom hadn't told him to clean up. To her surprise though was a boy, probably no older than twelve or thirteen sitting in front of a laptop, typing away wit a small smile on his face and bit of a distant look in his eyes. He only moved when he adjusted his glasses and to take a sip of juice he had sitting next to him.

"Hey there, cutey," she said, trying to be nice as she approached, still off about the idea of this boy being here and sitting all alone. As she sat down on the other end of the couch, the boy turned to her. His smile dropped and his eyes widened. His head turned back to the screen, now super focused with a slight red to his cheeks as he typed away even faster than before. Odd boy. "So what's your name?"

"His name's Rafael," Smokescreen answered, stepping up slowly to the platform. He scratched his helm, optics averted to another direction. "Don't let the kid fool you. He's a super genius. Already in high school and everything."

"Oh wow," Naomi said in true surprise. Looking at him, you'd think he was just a normal kid playing on the computer. But now getting a better look at his screen, she saw he was typing in some kind of program, and images flew across almost as fast as she could blink. "A prodigy kid, huh?" She smiled seeing his blush deepen.

"He's shy around cute girls… I mean, I don't think your cute. I mean I do… I… I've got important things to do over here. I'mSmokescreenbythewayLovedyouvideos!" He silently cursed in his native tongue and turned completely away to the consol bent on blocking everything about the world out.

Naomi blinked, thought about what he said, and blushed. She looked at Rafael. "You saw them too, didn't you?" If it was even possible, he typed even faster, head dipping lower, almost touching the screen. She felt her cheeks redden some more too. "This is going to be awkward."

**OOO**

Interceptor sat in a chair big enough to support him. Hands were still cuffed behind him with his weapons offline due to his own shutoff protocols and from a dampener that had stuck to his shoulder. Before him stood Arcee and Bumblebee, blasters drawn and aimed directly at his head. Bee seemed more calm, but Arcee looked ready to rip his head off. He remembered seeing her back at the school where he took the boy. The brief scuffle they had. "Jack must have been yours," he said, looking her in the eyes again.

Arcee stepped forward, free hand curled into a fist to deliver some much deserved pain when Bee stepped up, putting his hand to her shoulder to slow her down. He gently pressed her back, beeping to get her to calm down. "I know Bee. Still want to knock that look off his face."

"What look?" Interceptor asked, looking to Bee then back to Arcee. "I've got no look. I'm complying here."

"Which begs the question why?" she snapped. "Why are you so readily willing to comply? No gloating. No ego thrown in. No witty banter."

"You think every Con is like Megatron or Starscream? I have my head screwed on for one thing. I'm not power hungry with a ego as long as my…"

"Save it. And what's with the former Con bull. You don't just stop being a Con."

"It's a choice," the 'former'-Decepticon said, glaring. "Just like it was a choice signing up, it's a choice signing out. Just got to make sure no one is waiting to stab you in the spark when you're not looking."

The two stopped as Optimus and Ratchet entered the room, the medic eying the prisoner before approaching to perform a quick scan. Interceptor eyed Ratchet for only a second before looking to Optimus, the two locking eyes. The room was deathly silent till Ratchet stepped away. "The scans are clean. He's in perfect health for someone who's been alone for some time now, if what he says about being a former Decepticon is true."

"It is true, Doctor," Interceptor said, showing a slight respect towards Ratchet's title. "And before you ask, it's because I have my own private stash of energon in a cave hidden down by the beach. Got to take a ship down to get to it, but its there."

Optimus nodded. "You may leave, and tend to Bulkhead, Ratchet. We will deal with Interceptor."

"Very well, Prime," Ratchet said and left without a second thought.

Optimus' gaze never left Interceptor. "You're an Enforcer from Cybertron, aren't you?"

Bumblebee beeped loudly, and Arcee's jaw dropped. Interceptor nodded. "You're the only one so far to figure it out."

"An Enforcer?" Arcee asked, turning to Prime fully. "From our home?" She turned back to Interceptor who glanced her way. "Enforcers haven't been seen since the fall of the council. They were either converted or killed during the Decepticon uprising."

"And who do you think was part of the uprising?" he questioned, arching a brow at Arcee. "I was there. Fighting for what at the time was the very right I had, to choose. The caste system needed to fall, but those power craving fools who sat on their thrones for so long didn't want to give it up. We were rebels fighting for our freedom… at least that's how it started as," he said as an after thought, looking down at the floor. "I was maybe four Earth months out from the academy when I heard the speeches given by Megatron about freedom from the caste system. His words got to me. Made me think." He looked up to Prime. "I didn't want to be an Enforcer working for corrupt politicians who wanted to hold onto their power and put a boot to someone they felt was beneath them."

"Save your spill," Arcee said venomously, getting another glare from the Con. "We don't want to hear your reasons for making a bad choice. What we want to know is where you took Jack and who has him. So talk."

"Ask the question then."

"Why?"

"I told you why. She's out there."

"That's another thing we'll get into, but why her? What's so special?"

Interceptor glanced around first, trying to get his story together. "Answer her," Optimus pushed, weathering the glare the Con through at him like a pro.

Interceptor took in a deep breathe and sighed. "Nearly a month ago I was cruising around the city at night. I was alone. Naomi was asleep back home. I just needed to stretch me wheels a bit. Got into a race or two for the fun of it." He paused, again collecting his thoughts. "Then on my way home, these three green cars came out of nowhere and surrounded me. Men got out, carrying guns I'd never seen before."

"Wearing masks with goggles?" Arcee asked, a faint picture forming in her mind.

Interceptor nodded, looking to her without a glare for the first time since they met. "Yea. All wearing tactical gear. Couldn't make a nationality or hair color. They were trying to capture me, but I put up more of a fight then they were willing to handle. We Enforcers were taught to at least stand toe-to-toe with someone even like Megatron for a short while. At least till backup arrived," he added with a slight chuckle.

"Then what happened?" Optimus prompted.

"After I kicked their rear fenders, I left, never giving them a second glance. I made sure to take the LONG way home in case they decided to follow. I get home with no further troubles and that was it. Then two days later, I see those same green cars parked in the neighborhood." He frowned at the memory, eyes narrowing at a scene that played out in his own mind. "They were just watching. Even when Naomi was…" He paused, glancing around the room nervously to find the right words. "… was spending some time with me."

"You mean the car washing?" Arcee asked, smirking devilishly as she watched him squirm for the first time. Bumblebee beeped at her and she looked to the scout. "What? I'm not being mean."

"I told her not to post those videos," he whispered.

Optimus cleared his throat and everyone sobered up. "Continue."

"So I took off, and they followed. Took them away from populated areas and transformed. Told'em if they wanted another aft kicking I'd give it to 'em. Instead I get a message. They tell me if I want to keep the girl safe, I do as they say. Then they bring out a laptop that has videos and images of Naomi on a day to day basis. Shopping, working, hanging with her friends…" He shrugged. "What could I do?"

"You could have come to us for aid," Optimus answered.

"And blow my cover and reveal myself to Megatron that one of his former Cons is sitting right under his nose? I can protect her from some guys in mask but from him? He'd bring the wrath of Unicron down on her if he knew about… us." He looked to all the Autobots. "And think about it. Would you really be trusting of someone still wearing this insignia?" He asked, puffing his chest out for the familiar Decepticon insignia to be seen.

"I would," Prime answered. "I believe that there is as much good in someone as there is evil. Had you come to us in the beginning, we would have helped you."

"And also take Naomi from her home that she worked for…"

"We're getting off track," Arcee said. "Now what did they do next."

"What do you think?" he scoffed, looking away. "Showed me an image or two of the kid and gave me a name. Said not to ask questions. Just snatch the kid up and radio them on a private frequency. They gave an address and told me to decide on the time and place. They'd be waiting. So I fell on my training and did as ordered. I made it to Jasper after I told Naomi I had some business to take care of."

"And she bought that?"

"I'm an alien robot from another plant. For all she knew I was saving the world." Arcee scoffed with wave of her hand. "ANYWAY. I make it to Jasper and I scope the town out. Not much to go by and by day two I find the kid at school, but I also see him with two other kids and vehicles with no drivers. Sound familiar?"

"Wait you were there the whole time?"

"Enforcer grade dampeners. Used primarily for sting operations. I could be standing behind you and you wouldn't know it till it was too late." He shifted slightly in his seat. "Now, I had to wait for the opportune time. Which luck would have it, was only two days later. His friends and their guardians," he said looking to Bumblebee, "were gone and Jack was left sitting alone, talking it up with some girl he seemed familiar with."

And Arcee could not stop herself. "What girl?" She immediately slammed her lips shut.

All eyes slowly turned and looked at her. She fidgeted slightly. His jaw open slightly, Interceptor shook his head. "Anyway, when she left, and Jack looked ready to get into some kind of scuffle with another male student," Arcee was about to say something but stopped herself from possibly even more embarrassment, "I rolled in." He looked to the blue femme. "You know what happened next." Again they glared at one another. "And after throwing you into a wall and taking Jack into the portal, which I'm still surprised humans have gotten as far as building a ground bridge, yet still haven't set foot on Mars, I'm in a poorly lit area that is in dire need of repair. Place was a wreck but they were steadily fixing everything. Armed men tell me to hand over the boy and they carry him off."

"Then they just let you go?" Arcee asked.

"Yea," he said, nodding slowly as he looked about. "I didn't think they would. I was ready to fight my way out. Maybe even get the kid back and make a bridge back to Miami and grab Naomi. But the next thing I know is that they're opening another bridge and said the deal is done. So I stepped through, knowing I probably made the second biggest mistake of my life, and went back home."

"Indeed," Prime said with a hint of disappointment.

"I was protecting someone I care about," he said while ignoring Arcee's comment about finding that hard to believe. "Do what you want with me, but leave Naomi alone. All I ask is you keep her safe.

Bumblebee let out a series of beeps, getting the topic stirred into a different direction that sorely ignored. Interceptor nodded ."Yea. All of them. Wearing the same green tactical gear with masks and goggles. Now there were a few in lab coats but they were few in number."

Optimus let a small sneer slip past him. "MECH."

"Who?"

"They're a human organization that tampers in advanced alien technology," Arcee answered. "We've run into them a couple of times in the past. Our last tangle left their leader benched, PERMINANTLY."

"But it would seem they are still in functioning order and running freely," Optimus said.

"And with Jack."

"What else can you tell us about the place they brought you to with the bridge?"

"Dark mostly. Felt old. Not too old but old. The place was layered in dirt and grime. But it was big. Massive really. Enough for even someone of Megatron's size to waltz around in with room to spare. A ship?"

"It is possible," Optimus said, hand raised to rub at his chin in thought.

"Lately we've been finding relics from Cybertron," Arcee said. "Could be possible a ship came here as well."

As the two spoke their minds, trying to figure out where MECH may have taken Jack, Interceptor spoke. "What happens to me and Naomi?"

Arcee was about to snap a comment but Prime placed a hand on her shoulder. Taking the hint, she remained silent. "You both will remain here. I will ask that our friend Agent Fowler send her and some men so she may collect some belongings and return. Smokescreen will accompany her as added protection."

Interceptor felt like the weight of Cybertron had been lifted off his shoulders, and he sagged in his chair. "Thank you Prime," he whispered. "Wait, you said relics?"

"Yea," Arcee answered, brow arching. "Why?"

"'Cause I think I found one."

**OOO**

"So, you guys play any games?" Naomi asked, seeing as both Raf and Smokescreen were trying everything but to look in her general direction. "Oh come on guys. It's… not that embarrassing. Is it?" She shrunk a little. If Interceptor was a normal car, Raf would be fine. But being an alien robot, she could understand Smokescreen's reaction. In a sense, it was amateur porn for them. Well, not too amateur. It took a lot of work to edit those videos. And time it all with the music too.

She was snapped out of it when she felt the floor shake as massive feet marched into the room. Optimus, Arcee, and Bumblebee moved waling in, the yellow bot giving a sheepish wave. Had he seen the videos too? She fell on her side, burying her head under a pillow.

"Smokescreen, we're bridging out," Arcee said. She moved to the consol, typing in the coordinates that Interceptor had given them. "It would seem our Con had discovered another relic when making his cave to hide his stash of energon."

"Another relic," Smokescreen perked up. "What was it? Did he describe it?" Even Raf stopped typing on his computer and looked to the group from over the back of the couch.

"Said it was a gold shield, if that tells us anything."

"NO WAY!" he shouted, causing everyone in the room to pause and look in his direction. Even Naomi looked out from under her pillow. "The only shield ever known to be held in the Iacon Vaults is none other than the Skyboom Shield! Said to have been one of the first weapons to be forged by Solus Prime herself and could take a direct hit from Unicron!… I mean that's what the stories say." He coughed, scratching the back of his helm as his nerdish moment subsided. "Not that anyone has tried to use it. It's mostly been in the vaults for much longer than how long you've been online, Prime."

"In either case," he said, the ground bridge bursting to life behind him. "We must go and claim it for ourselves. It could very well aid us in our next encounter with the Decepticons." With that, Prime and Arcee entered the bridge, it closing shut shortly after they departed.

Raf turned around, and paused. "Where'd Naomi go?"

**OOO**

The floor was cold to her bare feet, but Naomi didn't care. She was worried for Interceptor and wanted to make sure he was ok. Lightly stepping down the large hallway, she would peek into what open rooms there were till she found the black armored Decepticon sitting in a room, hands bound behind his back with a chain running down to the floor. She knew he was strong, but it looked like it would hold even against his immense strength.

He perked up as he heard the little patting of her feet on the floor. "Naomi," he said, looking around. "You shouldn't be here. I mean, you won't get into any real big trouble. I'm the one they're more worried about," he said wit a smirk. He jerked at his restraints and sighed. "I'd pick you up, but I'm kinda tied up at the moment."

She cracked a smile. "Great time to be making jokes, Innie," she said, lightly stepping over to him, hand resting against his leg. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Them, nah," he said with that cheesy grin. "Autobots don't do torture. They talk you to death. Now that blue one, Arcee. If given the chance I think she'd like to bust my bumper a couple of times." His smile dropped and turned away slightly. "Look, Naomi. I'm not going to make any excuses about what I did. Just know that I had you in mind when I did it. Just to protect you."

"So you did kidnap some kid?"

He nodded. "Yea. Some guys threatened to come after you if I didn't. Wasn't about to let that happen."

"But couldn't you, I don't know, go to the cops about it?"

He rolled his optics. "I don't think that would have gone over too well. A robot changing from a car right at a police station wanting to come forward about being blackmailed or extorted to kidnap a kid?"

She pouted slightly. "No need to make fun of me."

"I'm not, I swear," he said, small smile coming back. "But even still, my hands were tied. Had I came to the Autobots like they said I should've, I'd be roped back into this war, cause somehow, the Decepticons would find out and track me down, and you'd be in even more danger. Laying low we had a better chance of getting away without issue."

"But we're now in the situation you tried to avoid. Even worse since they don't trust you."

"They wouldn't have trusted me even if I had come to them. Former or not, they don't like Decepticons. We did bad things back on our planet. Terrible things. And they're still doing it to this day." He tried leaning down to her, but the chain restrained him, causing him to sigh in annoyance. "I didn't want to ruin your life by dragging you into this."

"You haven't ruined anything!"

"I have! You think they're just going to let you go home after this? You're a potential target for a terrorist group that dabbles in alien technology because of me. They'll try and relocate you, possibly to some small no noting town… like Jasper."

She frowned at him, eyes glaring in that way that made him shrink a bit. Be he couldn't get past how cute she looked when angry. "I don't care, so long as I'm still close to you."

"You say that now," he said softly, "but when it comes time you want to see or talk to your friends and you can't because it'd reveal your whereabouts, then you'll care."

The silence settled in for only a few seconds. "Are you trying to…"

But he cut her off. "No! Primus no, I'm not." Looking around, he stood slightly and shoved the chair aside, falling to his knees and leaning as close as he could to her before there was no more slack. "I just don't want you to be unhappy."

She moved close, hands reaching up to caress the sides of his face. "And I won't be."

He smiled at her, enjoying the feel of her hands on his face. That is till he noticed the movement at the door, and saw a young human boy with glasses. And just above him, the Autobots Smokescreen and Bumblebee. "Hey, do you mind?"

"Sorry!" the boy shouted and ducked back around the corner with Bee letting out a nervous beep.

"Yea, sorry!" said Smokescreen as he too disappeared.

Interceptor frowned, and Naomi laughed. He looked to her. "Oh you laugh now, but any private times we had have just been cut by a large margin."

She pat his cheek and turned to leave, knowing full we he was watching every step and move she made. "It'll just make it a bit more adventurous not getting caught."

**OOO**

Wheeljack and Miko arrived in time for Optimus Prime and Arcee to come through the bridge. On his back, the Prime carried a large, golden colored kite shield adorned with Cybertronian script that most likely no one but the Prime himself could read. It was as large as Bulkhead, and nearly as wide as Optimus' shoulders. Yet he carried it as if it weighed nothing on his back. All he needed now was a sword and he'd by the spitting image of the Primes of old. The only thing that was just as impressive was that both he and Arcee were carrying a stack of energon cubes.

Smokescreen was beaming, jumping from foot to foot as he watched Prime lift the shield from his back. He approached, hands hovering over its surface as if he was afraid to ruin it with his touch. "I never thought I'd see it this close!"

"Impressive slab of metal there, Prime," Wheeljack commented, crossing his arms. "And where'd you get the energon."

"Our new friend gave us the coordinates to his stash," Arcee said from behind the pile she carried. "He's got more too, but we left them there for later."

"He also informed us of this relic, the Skyboom Shield," Optimus added. "An ancient weapon that could aid us against the Decepticons." In his grasp, Optimus could feel old energy coursing through it. As if the shield was alive, given life by its creator Solus Prime.

"So we're trusting this Con?" the wrecker asked, finally noticing that Miko had disappeared. Probably to go check on Bulkhead.

Smokescreen relieved Prime of the stack of energon, leading Arcee to their stock room where they held their supplies. "Not as much as trusting, but cooperating with our needs. He willing gave information and answered our questions. Even giving us the shield and energon when he didn't need to."

"Doesn't mean we let it slip he took Jack," Wheeljack commented, arms falling to his sides. "Once a Con, always a Con."

"That's bull!"

Both Prime and wrecker looked down to see the barefoot Naomi walk up, fuming in Wheeljack's direction. "Who's she?" he asked, fists on his hips.

"He's different. He's not like the others you've dealt with."

"Look missy, I don't know what he's told you, but a Con…"

"No, you listen!" she said, pointing a finger at the white mech. "I've spent over a year with him, and I can tell you he's a good person. I know you're stories. He told me. Even the bad things he did, and you know what, he regrets it!" Wheeljack leaned back at her shout. "He left the war to have a normal life." She looked down, arm lowering to her side. "And now because he wanted to protect me, to not drag me into it, he's in trouble." She felt the ground tremble and looked to see Prime had lowered himself to one knee, hovering over her slightly. "Prime?"

"He is not in any trouble, I assure you," Optimus said. "Though our trust he will have to earn." his hand gently went to the floor, palm up in front of her. She cautiously stepped into it and Prime gently lifted her up and over to the platform. "Though I am sorry you have been pulled into this. We will do what we can to ensure your daily life isn't interrupted with our ongoing war with the Decepticons."

She bit her lip, looking from Prime to Wheeljack. "So the war IS still going? And you're fighting it out on our world?"

Optimus nodded. "Yes. And I'm afraid we have a third party that may be involved."

"You mean the ones I saw on TV, right? They called themselves the Combaticons?"

"Right you are missy," Wheeljack said after being quiet for while to let Prime defuse the situation. He was good at it. "These new guys just got your country painted with a big target for harboring aliens. Any normal Bot or Con would see that it's a stupid move, so they have to be planning something. Though I wonder how Big Bad is handling it."

"If they haven't directly confronted Megatron, he will ignore them," Optimus answered. "Should they invoke his wrath however…"

Wheeljack waved it off. "Let them fight I say. Destroy each other and let us deal with the stragglers. Makes it easier." He turned and waved over his shoulder. "I'm going to check on Bulkhead. Later Prime."

They watched him depart, but Naomi looked back to Optimus. "Is there anyway you could release Interceptor? I promise you, he isn't like before. He's changed. I can keep an eye on him if you like."

He looked into her pleading eyes, and nearly found it hard to refuse. "I will think it over, Ms. Wells," he said.

"Please, call me Naomi. Not old enough to be called Ms. Wells just yet."

"Very well, Naomi." With a slight bow of his head, Optimus turned and left the young woman alone on the platform.

**OOO**

"So, didn't like the chair?" Arcee asked, leaning against the doorframe. She had come to check on the prisoner and was surprised to find him on the floor with the chair provided for him kicked to the side.

Interceptor rolled his eyes. "It's nothing to worry about. Naomi came to visit. I just wanted to get low enough so she wouldn't hurt her neck looking up at me the whole time."

"Now that is something I want to ask about."

"Ah slag, here it comes." He took a deep breath and looked at the femme. "So what do you want to know?"

She was hesitant at first, questioning if she was really going to be asking him the questions that had been running through her mind when she saw that the two were 'close'. "Are you two… you know…"

"In a relationship? Yea," he stated as a matter of fact. "Problem?"

Arcee found her jaw dropping slightly again. "So when she did those videos, she knew what you were?" He nodded. "The entire time?" He nodded again. "Primus sake!"

"Hey, I told her not to post those. But to humans, it's just a young woman looking sexy washing her car so no big fuss."

"But to us, its like she's jerking…"

"Hey, hey!" Interceptor snapped, causing Arcee to stop. "It's not like we knew another Cybertronian was going to be poking around on YouTube." Though the funny thought of Megatron poking around there did pop up in his mind.

"But… how… I mean she has human needs! Something that last I checked we weren't exactly one-hundred percent compatible with."

Interceptor shifted uncomfortably. "We worked around that," he said, making sure not to make eye contact with Arcee.

"How'd you manage that?"

"I don't think I'm the guy you want to be talking to about this."

"How?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, but smirked. "WHY are you so curious?" he asked suddenly, watching Arcee blink. She even took a slight step back. "Wondering how it works?"

"No," she said defensively. "Just trying to understand how a Con and a human female have any kind of sexual relations with one another being two different species."

"There's someone who's got your eye, isn't there?" he asked.

"No!"

He paused in thought before it clicked. "It's not Jack, is it?"

"Primus no!"

"Well that's a relief. I mean he's just a kid."

"And Naomi isn't?"

"By human standards I'd be in my late thirties, thank you. Still older than her, but within a reasonable margin."

"But your not human. You're not a decade older. You're centuries older. Much, MUCH older than that.

"Don't think I haven't thought of that," he said, looking at the floor. "Nor the fact I'll out live her."

Arcee bit her lip, listening to how sad he sounded. She wasn't expecting that actually. "Yea. Humans only live maybe a total of hundred if they take good care of themselves. That's if they're lucky."

A pregnant silence fell in the room, former-Con nor Autobot saying anything…

"I was minding my own business after scanning my current alt-mode when she found me," he said suddenly with a shrug. "I didn't know who the current owner of that car was, just that I liked the look. Just added a bit of human cop flare to it so as to remind me of my old days as an Enforcer. So there I was, powered down, when I felt someone hitting my tail light and kicked my tire while screaming and shouting about someone being an asshole." He chuckled. "I honestly thought I was under attack. Like waking from a memory of the war. I just snapped up and transformed, looking around for any Bot or Con to put a hole in…"

"… and that's when I saw her. Naomi Wells." He smiled at the memory. "I had surprised the scrap out of her when I transformed. She had fallen on her rear and dropped the crowbar she had to try and damage my chassis. I had been on Earth for so long, and gotten so used to the people, I had forgotten I was suppose to stay hidden, so I pointed a finger at her and just asked what her problem was."

"That's it?"

"Yep. I went on and on about her vandalizing someone else's property and what kind of trouble she could get into, and just sat there still stunned as a giant robot was throwing at her how many laws she was breaking and how much trouble she could get into if I had been a normal car she was beating on."

"So what happened?"

"She actually apologized," he laughed. "Said she thought I was her then ex-boyfriends car. Turned out the bum had not only blown all his money on tricking the car out, but hers as well. Thought she would be cool with it till she saw that she had no money to pay the bills. Kicked him out. But then she got word of it being finished had been driving it all over town, showing it off. So she decided to go looking for the car he had spent so much money on to get a bit of revenge. She saw me and thought I was it."

"So then what?"

"To be honest, I don't know. It got quiet for a second, and she started crying. I wasn't expecting it and I didn't know what to do. Wasn't exactly trained for that kind of thing."

"Been any other Con, she'd be blown to scrap."

"In case of a human, more like goo." He shifted slightly on the floor. "So I transform, open my door and tell her I'd give her a lift home. It took some convincing, but she got in and told me where to go. She actually sat in the passenger seat, thinking it would be rude to sit in the driver's side."

"On the way there, she goes on about her bad choices in life. Mostly with guys. Don't know why I even bothered listening, I just did. I had even let it slip that she was a little more comfortable with a robot than what she should be. But we eventually get to her home. Not the place she's at now. The place she stayed in was a bit shabby in comparison."

"Let me guess, you had a hand in that?"

He shrugged. "Maybe." He gave a smirk and continued. "But I'll get to that later. So we get to her place. She gets out and kind of stands there. I mean, what do you say in a situation like that? She actually said she didn't think I could drink coffee so couldn't offer me that. I laughed at the idea, and it got her to smile. Then it was quiet again. I wanted to rest so asked if it was fine for me to park here till morning. She said it was fine."

Arcee blinked. "And that's it? You squat in front of her house and you two go on to have a relationship?"

"Of course not. That took time. The next morning she came out and made some comment about me looking filthy."

Arcee rolled her eyes. "Can only guess where this is going."

"SO she gets a bucket and hose. Needless to say I got a cold wake up when I found myself being hosed over. I demanded to know what she was doing and she said she wasn't going to be caught dead driving around in a dirty car that looked as good as I did. I asked what'd she mean by being seen driving me around, like I was going to stay, and she said it wasn't like I had anywhere else to go, otherwise I would have left last night." He gave another shrug. "And she was right."

"Or was it that you liked the idea of getting cleaned?" Arcee mocked.

"Maaaaaybe," he said, tilting his head slightly with a grin. "Didn't get this kind of attention from a femme on our home planet. Wasn't exactly going to pass it up." He paused, looking Arcee over, who felt a little invaded and stepped back, arms crossing her chest. "Did Jack ever…"

"No! He did not." And she couldn't hide the slight disappointment in her voice. "I take care of any cleaning needed myself." She glared at the former-Con. "Not that its any of your business."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Whatever. Time passed, and like you said, I aided in her financial endeavors. An anonymous deposit here and there that didn't send any red flags. Marvelous thing PayPal is. Anyone can just send and deposit money to anyone almost anywhere. And if you know someone's password, you can accept the anonymous tip for them."

"So you stole money from other humans and deposited into her account?"

"You think anyone in the world will miss a penny?" he asked, arching a brow. "And how many pennies do you think it takes to match a few thousand humans? At the end of the week, she gets around hundred or more dollars just to give her a bit of an edge from a friend's account."

"And you're the friend?"

"Was. As you've so colorfully put it, we're a bit more than that." He straightened up slightly in his sitting position. "So things went on that way." He nodded slightly, looking to the floor. "We began to talk. I got to know more about her. Her family. She… asked about my home. Our world. How do you tell her you helped in its death?" He shrugged. "Figure it was better than lying. So I told her. My status as an Enforcer. My defection to the Decepticon cause of freedom and equality which later became my aiding in subjugation of our world till Megatron just about killed it."

"And how'd she take it?"

"Stopped talking to me for a while, really. Three days. Avoided me like a virus too, but never said a word. Then I took off for a drive. Trying to think of what I'd do next. Decided to come back and see if she wanted to talk. Instead, I find her angry with me for taking off." He chuckled. "Human women are just as unstable as any Cybertronian. She said when I disappeared, she didn't think she'd ever see me again. Couldn't understand it. Bet it was funny to her neighbors, seeing he argue with a car."

"I bet," Arcee said with a slight laugh of her own. "Continue."

"So we talked. I explained I… was ashamed at what I did. Can't take it back and have to live with what I did. After the exodus I traveled from planet to planet, trying to forget. Not like you can with how long the fighting had gone. Eventually I came across some other Cons who got separated from the _Nemesis_. They were causing a bit of trouble on one other planet, but was biting off more than what they could process. But before they got in over their heads, I scored coordinates to Earth. Left them to their fate and came to here. That was a few years ago. Was almost out of energon till I landed and found a small vein of it."

"So you set roots and stayed."

"And never regretted it," he said with a smile. "I told her of my travels. Studying the Earth cultures and histories. It's amazing how much they are like us, but better."

"Better?"

"Centuries of war and peace between themselves, only a few times going so close to destroying one another till they see the flaw in it. And their advancements without outside influence. Another few centuries, they'll be combing the stars. They're only decades away from landing on the only other planet in this system that could possibly hold life on it. And lets not forget their arts and music," he said with a slight roll of his head. "So many… Our people hadn't expressed themselves in such a manner in centuries since BEFORE the war. I LOVE their music! Imagine if it was introduced to our people during the war."

"Excuse me?" Arcee asked, shifting to one side slightly. "What would music do?"

"You listen to it? And not just one type. Music has a power of its own, I tell you. Some types tend to put my thought processors in a whole new world…"

"Okay, okay," the femme said, motioning with her hands for him to slow it down. "I get it. Big Earth fan now. So, Naomi?"

"Right," Interceptor said, seeming sheepish all of a sudden. "She… acted kinda like you did just now when I confessed my love for the cultures. But then she asked me what my intentions were. If I was planning to do here, what I did on Cybertron." He shook his head. "I told her I wasn't. I came here, to get away from the war. Not to bring it. I hadn't even known Prime and Megatron were coming here till I received Prime's message that the planet WAS the one the two were gunning for. Just my luck right? I go to avoid the war, and then end up on the one Prime is fighting over with big bad."

"So did you tell her that? That the war had come."

"…no," he admitted. "Kept it to myself. We patched things up, and she managed to get a new job that allowed her to get the place she was renting out. Had a garage so we could talk in private without neighbors watching and thinking she was crazy. I continued to help her money wise and be sort of a body guard. She'd date these guys from time to time and they… weren't good for her."

"And an alien car is?"

Interceptor narrowed his eyes. "I never pushed it. Never said anything. Never acknowledged it myself till each time she tried to have a relationship with someone." He sighed, shoulders shifting slightly while tugging on the chain that held him down. "One night she got a ride with a friend from work. You know, keep up appearances of a single woman with a fancy, but gas guzzling car, so she would carpool with friends from time to time. Well it seemed some guy at her work got a little fresh, as the humans put it. Stepped over the line and made a bit of a pass that she was uncomfortable with. But couldn't do much because he was big in the company she works with, so he has a lot of pull."

Arcee turned slightly, eyes still locked on him. "And what exactly did you do?"

"He's alive, don't worry about that." He gave an all too familiar Decepticon grin and said, "But probably not too happy considering someone got him arrested on the charges of having human child pornography on his computer."

Arcee's jaw dropped. "You didn't."

Interceptor nodded. "As beautiful as this world is, it has its ugly side. Just used it to my advantage."

"So he goes to jail on false charges…"

"Looses his job, respect, and much more," he said proudly. "And I didn't have to do anything to get blood on my hands."

"And Naomi?"

"She guessed I had something to do with it. When she asked why I did it, I admitted I didn't like the idea of someone trying to hurt her." His smile changed from the typical Decepticon grin to one he seemed to sport when mentioning her. "She gave my hood a hug for that. After that, things went back to normal. The next guy however was a bit of an ass." He seemed to glare at something that wasn't there. "Even thought he could do as he pleased around her place."

"Why do I believe he didn't get arrested for child porn?"

"He got a bit physical with her. Drunk of course. She was a bit tipsy too, but she wasn't drunk enough to do anything out of her control. Didn't help they were sitting in my cab at the time. When he started getting too far and she kept saying no, I took over. Gently ejected her from the driver side and took the guy for a ride he probably hasn't forgotten. Especially when I took him out in the middle of no where and gave him a good scare."

"Oh Primus you revealed yourself."

"He was drunk. No one would believe him, but I dumped his sorry human ass off and changed. I wanted to crush him right there but held back. So I told him to never come near her again, and if he did, I'd drag him down the road as fast as I could. After that I left him there and returned home. Naomi had gone inside and didn't come out. An hour or so later, she comes out, dressed for bed in some blue nighty of some kind. Scan shows she's sobered up a bit. She asks what happened, and I tell her. The guys alive but scared shitless on the highway somewhere outside the city. And I repeat to her I didn't like to see her get hurt. And then…" he paused, wondering if he should go into detail of what followed.

_She had just stood there, seeming to be lost in some kind of thought, till the tips of her fingers traced across his hood. How she had moved to his diver side, climbing in as he opened the door for her. He didn't know what she was doing till she sat in the seat. He could feel her through the thin fabric and knew she was bare. It surprised him a little but forgot the minute he felt her lips press to his steering wheel. Lightly, tracing over the 'plastic' and 'leather' till she reached the Decepticon insignia that was in place of the Dodge Ram head badge the car usually sported. Her hands had traced lightly over his console, moving down to trace a finger of the shifter between the seats._

_He had 'watched' her from within the cab take her hand away from the shifter, moving to stroke her own thigh, pushing the him of her nighty up. The other moved up her stomach, coming to her breasts. A part of him wanted to ask what she was doing, but he couldn't speak. He just watched. He listened carefully to the soft moan that left her. She slightly shift in the seat. Her core temperature was rising and it had nothing to do with the warm air that night. The hand that had tended to stroking the smooth skin of her thigh had inched towards her center, disappearing into the shadows just between her legs…._

Snap! "Hey!" Arcee clicked her digits in front of Interceptor, seeing the former-Con blink incredibly fast as he returned from whatever he had drifted off to. "You okay there?"

Interceptor glanced around, no longer in the memory of the garage with Naomi during their first intimate moment. He glanced to Arcee and then looked away. He didn't feel comfortable looking her in the eye at that moment. He coughed, cleared his throat and looked around. "Yea. I'm fine. Just… got lost in the memory."

"Was this memory…"

"Not something you are privy to," he cut her off.

Arcee's jaw dropped. "So you and her actually…"

"Not making excuses but it was more her. I wasn't exactly sure on what to do. Think it was more for me anyway considering all I did for her." He shrugged slightly. "Found a new use for my shifter though…"

"Oh Primus! I did not need to hear that." She turned away slightly, shaking her head.

"Well you got your story of how we came to where we are now. You know the rest." She shifted at his bonds once more. "Anything else?"

Arcee shook her head. What else could she ask him? He had actually formed a relationship with a human and somehow they were making it work, despite the HUGE differences. But why had she pushed for an explanation? What was so important that she wanted to hear his story? "No, that'll be all. I… think I understand."

"Just looking for a reason to put a hole in my head?"

"We've… I'VE been fighting Cons for so long its hard for me to believe any could reform." She pointed a finger at him. "But that doesn't mean I'm letting you slip for what happened to Jack. And you WILL help us bring him back."

"Dead or alive?"

"Preferably the later."

"By human standards, I'm a cop. And as a cop, I know that it looks bad. VERY bad. Jacks been missing over a month now, right? Or close to it. And these MECH people don't seem like the type to keep him alive if he has nothing for them to gain."

"He has plenty. Access codes and the location to our base for starters. Used against us like a means to trade for technology, weapons. Even one of us for their sick studies.."

"If that's the case, why not take me?" he asked, and she paused. "Exactly. They wanted him for perhaps the first reason you mentioned. Information. But why haven't they come knocking on your front door with rockets?"

Arcee thought it over, trying to come up with a answer but couldn't find one. Her optics brightened slightly and she looked to Interceptor. "Maybe he's withholding the info. He's keeping quiet."

"This long? You know what they'd do to get that info."

"Don't remind me," she snarled.

"And for a boy his age to last this long under torture? He's either got to be the toughest human on the planet, or… well you know what I'm getting at."

"So what are you asking me? Give up the search?" She waved him off. "Pass. I'm going to continue to search for him as long as it takes. And like I said I'll find him and bring him home, dead or alive." Her hands just hung at her sides as she stared at the floor. "It's the least I can do for June."

He didn't have to ask who June was. During his research of the boy, he also learned of his mother. Primus help him if he ever ran into her. "Well here's another question for you. Why did they want me to make the kidnapping public?"

Arcee's head snapped up, eyes blinking rapidly. "That wasn't your call?"

Interceptor looked at her as if she had just insulted him. "Are you serious? I had plans to make it clean without incident. And when I called in to let them know what I had planned, they disagreed." His expression straightened. "They wanted it public. They wanted you to know it was a Decepticon that took Jack. Why?"

"To lead us astray," she said with a slight gasp as it dawned on her. "Had we known from the start, we'd be searching for them instead. Maybe even find them before it got this long."

"Exactly," he said leaning back slightly. "Having you chasing after Cons leaves them plenty of time to do what they want with him."

Arcee's optics narrowed slightly, the too familiar scowl forming on her face. "Again something you are the cause of."

"Can we drop that already? It's not like I'm denying it. And I regret it."

"Still doesn't change the fact that he's gone, and you're still here. Online for that matter." She left it at that, no longer feeling the mood to talk with him. She turned on her heel and left, marching down the hall. But she couldn't stop herself from thinking about what he had said. Why the distraction? What could they have done to Jack that they needed so much time for?

She instantly regretted it the minute her mind started to run through whatever torture they could be putting Jack through. This also lead to her memories of Tailgate and his fate, as well as Cliffjumper. She had stopped, and leaned against the wall, her strength seeming to give out on her from the stress that was building up within. She stayed that way for some time…

Her head snapped up, a very bad and dark idea coming to mind. One she wouldn't normal follow through with. One she was possibly going to regret later on, but it was the only one she had.

**To Be Continued…**

**Chapter 3 is done, and 4 is in the works. Tell me what ya think.**

**Darklion0296: Thank you. Hope the little bit in this chapter cleared up the video.**


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